The Last Adventure: A Meandering Middle
by Undead Apparition
Summary: Continuing from TLA: A Final Beginning. Following the revelation that Yliaster is undergoing a civil war, Yusei has allied himself with Nanashi in an effort to protect his friends. To gain support and resources, the rebellious faction intends to win the Legend of Duellist Kingdom Tournament. But this is just the beginning of their plans and there may be no stopping them all.
1. Oceanside

The United States was once the land of freedom and opportunity. A vast, unexplored land brimming with potential and a bright future. Then the came the compromises, the mistakes. Invaders took the land from the natives, poisoned the water and cut down the trees. Within a few generations, it had all turned sour. Full of their own superiority, the continent took up arms and started trying to police the world.

For some time, the world actually acquiesced to the stance. It gave struggling nations a chance to better develop themselves instead of being torn apart through civil war. But when the countries started to stand on their own feet and expand their culture, the Americans were still there, trying to implement their own rules. Again, they were given more lead than was necessary because it seemed that they had the best intentions.

Then they started trying to control, to direct. Countries that had previously felt the hand of friendship now knew the gauntlet of control and subjugation. Alliances were formed, nations rose up and said in one voice 'No'. At that point, the Americans had one heavy choice before them: attack the world or retreat into their stolen land again. With a unified planet against them, the posturing country was forced back inside its borders. With dwindling resources and splitting factions, the nation actually divided itself into three before the war broke out. Seeing the plight they had created, many of the other countries rushed to the aid of the failed citizens.

For several decades, the damage was slowly healed and a more peaceful state of mind began to permeate the nations. Finally, the damage was completely reversed – on the surface at least – when the three countries rejoined themselves into one. Deciding it was no longer apt to be called the 'United States' the name of this new nation was simply the Union. Yet many countries returned to using the name that people the world over still recognized it as – America.

Oceanside was a middling city, nowhere near as sprawling as the confined reaches of Los Angeles to the near north or as classy as San Diego a short way to the south. It was a nice city with places to eat, sleep and live that hadn't been corrupted by the corporate greed that had torn America apart. It was also the chosen city to host the opening ceremony of the Legend of Duellist Kingdom.

Thousands of fans and reporters had flocked to the city as soon as the news had broken. Inside sources were cut as the false information turned their reputations sour. Flight companies made a month's profit every day for a week as each flight was booked and overbooked. If the global population could shrink itself down small enough, they would have all squeezed into Oceanside to bear witness to the biggest Duelling event in history.

Problems instantly arose. Like the unethical practice of overbooking flights for the odd passenger who didn't show, hotels turned a blind eye to the booking system in favour of cramming as many rooms as they could. Houses with empty rooms found themselves taking in piles of cash and 'old friends from out of town' with the aim of staying a few days to catch the excitement. Police were called in to break up illegal campsites and keep people from crashing in vacant buildings to stop the wild influx of bodies they couldn't quite control.

Within a day of the destination being made public, every available room in Oceanside was packed and heavy bribes were changing hands to open up the unavailable ones. Practically overnight, the population had almost doubled from around two hundred thousand to over three hundred and fifty thousand. Shops became bare, emergency orders were placed and even nobody was able to move for the reporters on the streets and the Duellists in the roads. By the time the first week was out and any Duellist hoping to participate had arrived, tensions were high and riots were in danger of breaking out. Sullen storm clouds caused a high pressure in the air, causing intense headaches and shortening tempers everywhere.

"I don't like this." Lounging against a window, one of the younger competitors was staring the crowds of reporters turning on each other with the hunger of starving wolves over a fresh deer.

"It's just a phase." Relaxing in a comfortable chair, a more seasoned partner was shuffling through a stack of cards. "How many fights so far?" Situated on the corner of a crossroads, they had an excellent vantage down two streets and a passable view down the others. With a handy pair of binoculars, they were keeping track of the number of fights between Duellists, reporters and the inevitable Duellist-reporter frictions.

"Six between Duellists, nine between reporters and three with both." A punch was thrown in the street below and added to the tally. "Ten reporters." Watching a camera smashed against the ground and a stand turn into a weapon, the young man turned away from the violence. "How much longer do we have to wait?"

Spiralling out a web of possible combinations, the figure at the table appreciated the result before sliding them back into one stack. "Word is, official registration opens sometime today." Shuffling cards, a hand was pulled to test the balance. "That's why they waited so long."

"Why?" Looking further down the street, he could make out another fight breaking through the throng of bodies piling through the road.

Spreading out the cards again, another examination was undertaken. "To weed out the people without patience. If they end up in jail, they can't be a part of the Legend of Duellist Kingdom. Less competitors, less work to do." Hearing footsteps in the hallway, he walked back over to the door and held his eye to the peephole. Situated at the end of the hallway, the apartment they were in was the perfect hideaway. Trying to juggle bags of overpriced shopping in either hand whilst trying to reach for keys, a tall black lady was approaching the door. Gently opening the door, he shuffled to one side with a smile.

"Leslie." Locking the door shut behind her, a bag was instantly scooped from her arms.

"Oh, you are a good boy." Grey was starting to streak her hair but the old lady still had plenty of fight left in her. From the gun she kept strapped to her ankle and the knuckledusters in her purse, it was clear she was not to be messed with. "Better than the last sack I let stay with me. Damn online letting. No telling who will show up." Though her eyes were starting to fail, she negotiated around with the use of her failing senses as much as she could.

"Thanks again for letting us stay here. We really can't thank you enough." Stacking cans of tomato sauce in a cupboard, Leslie waved away any attempts at help.

"Boy, I have seen more in my life than you can imagine." Stopping between cans, she fixed her fading stare on him. "Well, not seen." Chuckling slightly, she finished putting away the shopping. "I know you two are good boys. Can't hide that from me. You just keep saying nice things and it'll all work itself out."

"Les, you're a treasure." Ignoring her objections, he gently slid into the middle of the job and took over before she could object. "Whatever happened to your last guest?"

"Ryan? Arse left one day and never really came back. Hey, you ever need someone bad 'taken care of'," Lowering her voice consiprationally, Leslie slid closer to the young man. "I'll give you his number." Fumbling a can, it was saved by fast reflexes and a quick hand. "He has a soft spot for charity cases."

"That sounds," Hiring a mercenary to take out the competition seemed more in line with the Duellists outside than the ones inside. "Nice?"

"Nice?" Leslie almost spat in the sink. "Mouthy bastard will probably try and charm you with his old music or nonsense. Give him no slack, you'll be alright."

Over by the window, a tuneless jangle sounded as a message arrived on the young man's phone. A quiet hum sounded in the kitchen at the same moment as another handset vibrated.

"It's the tournament." Up and down the streets outside, phones were sounding. "List of places to sign up." In keeping with the petty traditions of humanity, some Duellists and reporters were smashing all the phones they could reach in an effort to stem the flow of competition for both news and Duels.

"One's not too far from here." Fumbling cans and phones, the distracted Duellist in the kitchen juggled the rest of the shopping away in record time.

"You boys be careful out there." Feeling her way over to the umbrella stand in one corner of the room, Leslie gripped a particularly thick handle. "I'll hold the fort." Both men dropped to the floor as she pulled out a thick shotgun and began scrubbing it with her sleeve.

"Les?" Voice slightly muffled, it was impossible for the elderly lady to tell which of the two was speaking. "Would you mind letting us leave the apartment first?" As they combat-crawled through the front door, Leslie settled herself onto a raggedy old couch, laid the weapon across her knees and lifted a landline from its cradle. With the apartment to herself again, she decided to take the time to call an old friend and catch up on events.

* * *

In a penthouse suite overlooking the water, one of the few Duellists with enough pull to nail a floor with a pool was relaxing under a patio umbrella with a cafetière gently steaming on the table. A list of official registration areas had already been arrived that morning, a perk of power. With enough money and connections, it was possible to have everything arranged ahead of the rest of the competition even finding out.

Those few who could be counted as close would recognise the subtle tenseness across the neck and shoulders. Both feet perfectly still. A hunter certain of superiority. Then the phone went off. Picking up the device, a short message scrolled across the screen as a cup was slowly lowered back down.

"Finally." Continuing to ignore the prattling voices inside the rooms, measured footsteps carried over to the edge of the balcony. Even from high up, the city streets were thronged with Duellists and reporters, identifiable from the way they moved and grouped. "It's time we settled this." Waving a hand to the huddled cronies inside, several burst out as fast as the doors could let them. "Get me a helicopter." One finger was enough to stop the beginnings of excuses that wouldn't make it past a turned back. "Get me. A _helicopter_." Staring out at the city below, the fights breaking out between factions, there was the faintest touch of a smile.

Down in the mingling streets, the duo of Duellists felt a buzz go through their pockets. It would be suicide to try and pull a phone out when there were so many bodies crushing in from every angle and even the worst pickpocket could walk away with a small fortune in a slow afternoon. Pulling his accomplice behind an overflowing garbage container in a dirty alley, the leader pulled out his phone to read the message inside. "You seeing this?" Standing guard as his partner read the message on his own phone, a quickening pulse left the pair with dry mouths and clammy palms.

"Still not believing it." Slipping the phone into a front pocket, the jacket was zipped over the opening to deter any curious thieves. "What about you?" An excited grin was all the answer that was needed from his young partner.

"What do we do about it?" Hiding away the phones, they watched the faces stream past the opening of the alleyway.

"Make our way through this lot, get to registration and hope this isn't some elaborate joke." An equally hardened and predatory look settled across his marked face. "I've got some business that needs settling." Turning deeper into the alley, he led the pair away from the community centre at the end of the street outside – easily the closest and probably calmest registration point in the entire city – and headed towards the more boisterous crowds just a block over. Operating under the foolish assumption that more space meant more speed, Duellists were practically stampeding towards the nearby sports arena. Unable to control the direction of their travel, the pair could only try to keep themselves together as they were swept through the doors, across a massive foyer and eventually onto a trampled pitch beneath the stormy skies.

Thousands of Duellists were crammed into the football stadium in an effort to formally register for the competition. Bodies were slamming against one another in the futile belief that getting to the front of the lines first would mean a better position to start the tournament from. An occasional scream went up as somebody was knocked to the ground and instantly trampled.

"Crow!" Watching his partner get swept up in the tangled mess, the Blackwing Duellist felt no remorse in flooring a few bodies to reach his young partner again.

"If anything goes wrong," Grabbing Leo's arm as a Russian team charged headlong through the masses, Crow held on as if his life depended on it. Maybe because it did. "I'm totally okay with you using my dead body as a weapon." Crow had no doubt that he could take on half the crowd and still come out swinging. He was stupid that way. What really bothered him was the look of panic on Leo's face at the bedlam.

"If anything goes wrong," Momentarily dropping beneath the waves of bodies, Leo squeezed his way back upright and lunged desperately for the reassuring perch of Crow. "I'm totally fine leaving you behind." Sharing a slightly terrified grin, they tried not to get crushed beneath the ocean of raw talent crashing towards registration.

Metal barriers had been erected closer to the lengthy tables beneath a goal post and forced the crowds to at least filter into some semblance of order. When the pair eventually reached the relative safety of the line, they stopped holding hands and acted as if nothing had happened.

"Next." Far up ahead, the barriers stopped about fifty metres from the lengthy tables. Stacks of papers were piled where possible, computer tablets had been secured to the tables with lengths of steel cable and guarded by surly guards. From the looks on their faces, it was possible they had been born without the ability to smile.

"At this rate," Mouthing numbers to himself, Leo tried to do some simple speed/distance calculations. "It'll be three hours until we get there." It should be noted that this was a genuine answer. In the conversion between metres and miles, Leo had somehow managed to add several digits. That number had then fluctuated wildly as he tried – for unknown reasons – to measure the speed in feet per second. Against all odds, the answer was somehow in the right area.

"Have you heard anything else from your sister?" Somewhere up ahead, the another team signed up and granted enough room for their queue to shuffle forward a few inches.

"Luna?" Single children would never learn the sorts of looks that siblings developed. Arching his eyebrows in the centre, holding them down on the outside and tilting his head down just enough, Crow used the look usually that translated as 'duh'. "She said she'd try and get here but it was difficult trying to find a flight." It had been several months since the twins had last been together, Leo dropping his sister off to attend a lecture in London. They still spoke almost every day and video-chatted whenever they could but actual meetings were slowly getting further apart.

"I heard she was doing charity work?" It didn't escape Crow's attention that Luna had the biggest heart he knew and an intellect somewhere slightly larger than his.

"Yeah, she's..." Leo paused and tried to remember the big words his twin had used. When she became excited, Luna had a tendency to forget to shorten her sentences for her brother. "Working all over?" Biting his tongue, Crow didn't trust himself not to laugh at the mixed question/answer. "I dunno." Leo had noticed the look just before it could vanish. "Luna travels a lot."

"I'm sure your parents are very proud." And they were. While most parents had a tendency to panic if they didn't hear from their children every other day, Leo and Luna could fly to several different countries before phoning home. Their parents knew what the pair were capable of doing under their own power and gave the twins a long leash.

"What about Jack? Do you know anything?" Opening his mouth to answer the question, Crow heard something above the shouting of the crowd. A steady bear that grew increasingly louder, closer. Air picked up and began coasting in a stiff breeze as the Duellists around them heard it too. Looking around, they all tried to locate the source of the noise. A few even managed to look skywards as the helicopter burst into view in a tightly controlled and highly illegal descent into the stadium. Enough money had been funnelled into the pilot's account that an early retirement could begin even after the extortionate charges were paid. Lowering to within twenty feet of the grass, rapidly rotating blades forced some Duellists from their feet and risked undoing all the work of that morning.

Frantic bodies piled atop the paperwork as they fought to stop their hard work being swept away. Swinging down on a rope ladder and showing up the assembled crowd, world reigning Duel Monster's Champion Jack Atlas was dropped in the middle of the wide circle that had formed from the downdraft of the helicopter blades. Striding through the shocked ranks of Duellists as his ride departed through the skies again, Jack stopped before the ranks of freshly disorganized tables. Turning to the crowd, he glowered at their sullen faces before putting them beneath his notice and held out a hand for a blank form. "A pen, if you would be so kind." Waiting patiently as the flustered attendant struggled to reorganize the disturbed forms, Jack eventually picked one off the grass by his feet and savagely filled out the boxes on the paper.

"Does that count?" Something about the way he stole the spotlight always served to frustrate Crow. Not that he envied Jack the attention – Jack constantly earned it – but his methods left something to be desired, like subtlety. "At least he's minding his manners." Carefully placing the pen back on the desk, Jack handed his form across to the trembling official and received a mumbled reply in return.

"Think I could pull that off?" Eyeing the retreating helicopter, desire was starting to settle in Leo's heart. Jack had been his hero as a child and even more now that he was an adult.

"Never mind." Watching Jack approach, Crow folded his arms. "Jack."

"Crow." Clenching his jaw several times, the older brother nodded to the youngest member of the team. "Leo. Glad you could make it."

"Aw, you know." Grounding his left heel in the grass, Leo dazzled them both with his smile. "Who could turn you guys down?" Taking advantage of the break in the crowd, Crow hurried forward and scribbled his details in a form.

"Leo." Grabbing the young man, he ushered him to the table as reality began settling in. This was Jack Atlas, winner of more tournaments than some of them had entered, the King of Turbo Duels and possibly the best Duellist who had ever lived.

"Heard about your work in the Shingon League." Turning his back on the crowd, Jack put on his traditional glower. "Not bad work but do you really think it's enough to take me on?" For a moment, Crow was almost drawn into the rivalry banter before more pressing concerns took over.

"Did you think to plan for when the people you just showed up start getting angry?" Enraged and envious faces were starting to replace the confused ranks of the crowd. Nobody was taking actual steps forward but every time anybody turned to speak to somebody beside them, another inch was shaved from the space near the tables.

"I planned on not being the last one here." They had all got the message, a time and place. Crow and Leo had already been nearby but Jack had accidentally erred on the early side. As it was, there was every chance the trio were torn apart before the final musketeer could arrive. "Does that criminal brain of yours happen to have an escape route?" Another few inches were taken from their safe space as Leo finished his registration and rejoined the grim brothers.

"Not that we can easily get at." With angry mutterings sounding and fingers curling into fists on all sides, it seemed certain that violence would erupt. "You take the left, I'll take the right?"

"Perfect. We can use Leo as bait." A comforting wink quelled any worrying thoughts in Leo's mind. If Jack and Crow led the charge, he would willingly follow. As luck would have it, the pair of moderately suicidal brothers had the option to forgo throwing their gullible friend to the snarling hordes.

Far behind them, another figure set foot on the grass. Disturbed by the person tapping them on a shoulder, several angry Duellists at the back of the crowd turned with quickly dying retorts on their lips. Silence seemed to radiate out and a path opened up before the sure-footed stride like the Red Sea before Moses. Still like the ocean, whispers preceded the corridor of bodies closing behind the walking figure.

A circular opening that had drifted across the field opened up to envelope Jack in the centre as he stiffened in the silence. "Nice entrance." Patting the white jacket on one padded shoulder as it slid by, Yusei Fudo smiled across the desk at the frozen staff. "So, where do I sign up?"

 ** _This next week should be full of chapters. Remember to follow the story and leave a review if you're feeling generous :)_**


	2. Challenges

As soon as the helicopter had approached the stadium, reporters began flocking. When word of Jack Atlas' arrival had broken, they turned and sprinted en masse. Hearing that Yusei Fudo had also just signed up to the competition had caused enough disturbance to warrant riot police being summoned to the scene and reporters tried to shoulder through the crowds of Duellists and the Duellists lost patience and tried stopping them.

"How long has it been?" As soon as Yusei had handed his form in, the group had escaped deeper into the complex to hide inside a secure locker room. Jack was leaning against the door with all the movement of a boulder as Crow broke the question.

"Four years?" Standing in an open space, Yusei had the posture of a seasoned guard with an arrow-straight back and no-nonsense folded arms. "There was that charity drive in France when I had a business trip."

"You took on the Duel Computer with donated cards." Bouncing on his heels across from Crow, Leo was in sharp danger of actually hitting the roof. "Twelve turns to win, 2800 Life Points remaining."

Yusei gave him an evaluating look. "Keeping up the good work." It wasn't a statement but not quite a question. Just enough confusion to stop Leo from bouncing.

"So, what's the plan?" Leaning against the sinks, Crow was occasionally sliding to either side to stop Leo preening at his reflection. "You didn't say much on the phone."

"An inside source has told me Yliaster plans to infiltrate the competition." Exactly who is inside source was not up for discussion. Yusei didn't want any more of his friends knowing about the arrangement he had with Nanashi. "First place comes with untold wealth and privileges. We just have to make sure they don't get them."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," For the first time since blocking the door, Jack spoke up. "But aren't there a few thousand teams outside, ready to stamp our heads in given half the chance?" Colourful metaphor aside, he did have a point. "Why doesn't Yliaster just arrange an 'accident' and have us taken out of the competition?"

"Because we'd only have to kick up a fuss to taint the entire tournament." Though not the winners, both World Champions – active or not – complaining would be enough to spark a media frenzy. "If they try anything, we break the news somebody is tampering with the competition. Instant investigation and the world finds out their secret." Communicating with glances, the three brothers made it clear that a similar ploy would work for more fatal means. Out of protective instinct for Leo, none of them said anything about it.

"Did you guys remember to pre-register?" Not to be deterred from the biggest tournament of the century, Leo was already back thinking of the competition ahead.

"I had a slight issue." Pulling his own phone out, Yusei checked to make sure the application was still installed. "But it's all working now."

As part of an effort to streamline the process of signing people up, the organisers had released a small program for potential attendees. Anybody who wanted to attend could download it to a phone or computer and pre-register themselves. That way, the paper forms submitted only had to confirm the Duellist had actually turned up and anybody else could be removed from the tournament database. In a cunning trick to cull any reporters or early scoops, the program was simply a shell waiting to receive information for the confirmed competitors. For some inexplicable reason beyond the fathoming of mere mortals, Yusei had found his name constantly rejected. Maybe it was the few thousand hilarious people who enjoyed spamming his name into the system with phoney information. It took a very polite phone call and a video conference with the organisers before the issue was cleared up.

"I spoke," There was a distinct yet polite cough that could have sounded like the word 'flirted' in the right context. "With the lady at the desk." Crow seemed unashamed from the looks his brothers were giving him after Leo's prompt. "We'll be getting information sometime 'soon'." Air quotes skipped around the word. 'Soon' could mean by the end of the next week where bureaucracy. "Still no idea what these cards are for." Pulling out their own thin rectangles of plain white plastic, the others were equally stumped. They had been handed them over the counter minutes before but given no further instructions.

"Oh, ooo!" Not quite the little boy Yusei still thought of him as but not the young professional people expected him to be in the team, Leo was still just as excitable as ever but with a touch more restraint granted by the years as he jumped with one hand raised for a question. "What if we actually win?"

"That's why we're here." Even though Jack answered, Crow was the only one who actually understood the meaning behind the question.

"There are some things I need to do. Might take a few months." Catching Yusei's eye, he telepathically passed along a message.

"Back to work for me. You wouldn't believe the trouble I'm in for taking this time off." Memories of screaming department heads drifted across his mind before being casually dismissed. They were probably loving the additional paperwork and restricted powers while he was away.

"Tournaments." Last to cross the mental finishing line, Jack kept his answer short. "I'll see you there." Let down by the team, it was just the pick-up Leo needed as their phones went off in tandem.

" _Congratulations on joining the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament._ " Reading the scrolling text aloud, Yusei kept a paranoid eye out for any invasive software. " _To prove each team is as strong as the sum of their parts, you will each participate in individual challenges. Please report to the location on the attached map for further instructions._ " A badge appeared on his screen beside an interactive map to his destination. "Group 36."

"Group 8." Leaning away from the door, Jack smoothed his jacket.

"Group 16." Suddenly nervous, Leo was also filled with excitement. It was a miracle his stomach didn't turn inside out.

"Group 20." Numbers and locations spread out, no member of any group would be able to reach one another for help. It was tactical, cutting them off from one another to see who could survive.

"Leo and I have been staying with a woman called Leslie." Slipping his phone away, Crow glanced at both his brothers. "We'll send you the address, meet up after the challenges."

"Fine." Already longing for the life of pampered comfort he had been at less than an hour before, Jack concentrated on some breathing exercises to keep calm.

"Just remember." Laser-focused and with comparable levels of energy, Leo could probably have run across the continent with the excitable energy he was feeling right then. "We're here to win."

"With you on our side," Holding the door open, Yusei let the rest of them out before him. "How can we lose?"

* * *

Arriving at the destination on his map, Yusei had seamlessly blended with the crowd. It was easiest to avoid detection by simply moving through the rotating masses. By the time anybody thought they had seen him, he was already swept away by the constantly moving current of people. Their destination was a large building with the sort of vibe that only came from vast amounts of paper. From the bright lights and towering shelves inside, it was immediately obvious as a library.

"Ladies and gentlemen." A man Yusei momentarily named 'Blue-Suit' was standing atop the main staircase before the crowd of a few hundred and was calling for silence. "You have the pleasure of standing before the building where Charles Darwin mapped out the route he took during his study _On The Origin of Species_ for publication in the _American Journal of Science_." Something rankled at Yusei but Blue-Suit was already moving on. "Yours is possibly one of the toughest challenges we will be attempting today. In the building behind me is the largest library in Oceanside." The challenge was already becoming clearer to the group. "There is a book somewhere in that library. Between pages two hundred thirty-seven and two hundred thirty-eight is the answer to this challenge." An old familiar instinct was circling in Yusei's gut. There was a bluff somewhere in the room - something that didn't belong. "When - and only when - you find it will you return here and I will verify your claim. You already have all the clues you need to complete this challenge."

"Piece of cake." Two members of the crowd broke off and headed straight towards the elevators.

"One final condition." Blue-Suit had crept back to press himself tightly against the wall at the top of the stairs. "You must proceed on foot from now on. Anybody who uses the lifts or escalators will be disqualified. We will also be reviewing security tapes after this event in order to verify no cheating was carried out. You have one hour." Disgruntled looks were shared between the group as feet shuffled from one side to another. Then the tension snapped as they stampeded towards the stairs. The announcer had been wise to stand out of the way as one unlucky contestant tripped and was pummelled by numerous feet in the few seconds it took to regain footing. Continued shouts and screams drifted back from the crew to the almost empty sidewalk where Yusei stock in mild shock as medics rushed to the fallen bodies.

"Well, that was fast." A look of minor confusion settled onto the face of the announcer as he descended the stairs, straightening his tie as he came. Seeing Yusei still standing there, he froze before professional instincts could kick in.

"I would advise that you hurry, lest you be left behind by the rest of the group." In response, Yusei withdrew his closed fist from one pocket and raised it to chest height between them. "What is it?"

"What you asked for." An open palm lay between them as finger uncurled. "Nothing." The announcer examined Yusei with a keen eye. "American books have the odd-numbered pages on the right. Seven and eight are either side of the same sheet." Blue-Shirt smiled - properly smiled - for the first time since Yusei had seen him.

"That has to be a record." One scan of his identity card later and Yusei was the first person in his challenge to be entered into the next round. "How many people do you expect will make it?" Something smashed in the far distance and insurance prices rose sharply.

"Out of a thousand? Maybe fifty." Another scream echoed as somebody fell down the stairs inside and started a minor avalanche of cascading bodies. "Forty-three."

"Can I see the card you were given at registration?" Pulling the piece of plastic from his inside breast pocket, Yusei wordlessly held it out. "Thank you." Drawing a scanner, Blue-Suit held it against the screen for a moment.

"What exactly do they do?" Tucking the scanner away again, the announcer seemed surprised at the question.

"Each participant is given a unique identifying card that is registered to them." Recalling the electronic tablet at the football stadium, Yusei suddenly understood the reason to have both it and paper forms. The tablet for the cards and the forms for hard copies. "Judges such as myself scan the cards to determine who has passed their challenges. I simply need to wait for the other forty-two winners of your challenge." Glass smashed somewhere above them and a reading table smashed itself on the sidewalk a short distance away.

"Make that thirty-seven." Another prophetic declaration later and a handful of battered souls finally made their way back. More trickled in once the time limit was past and began screaming about how impossible it was. Some accepted their places with wry smiles and earned extra adoration from the watching crowds. Of them all, only Yusei had managed to figure out the answer without a trial-and-error approach. Such skills did not go unnoticed.

* * *

Across town, Jack was facing a very different sort of problem. "Your challenge is simple." Ignoring the implication his group had been singled out for lacking intelligence, Jack tried to block out the smell of chlorine as successfully. "Reach the far end of the pool and grab a flag at the end of each lane." At the far end of the Olympic-sized swimming pool, cheap towels had been carelessly dropped atop a stool each. "Only the first three to complete the task will be allowed to progress to the next round." Still fully dressed in their clothes, the Duellists regarded one another with suspicion.

"That's it?" A Canadian entrant looked to have the muscles designed for towing icebergs, let alone paddling down a short stretch of calm water. "We swim to the flag and we get through?"

"Only the first three contestants to hold a flag get through." Politically pedantic, the announcer was stepping out of splash range. "Everything else is fair game. If you would like to take your positions?" Swiftly sliding into place at the far end of the pool, Jack noted that the lines weren't separated as they usually were. Along the line, competitors were already taking off any excess clothes and shoes they could in the frantic few seconds left.

"On your marks," Turning, the muscled Canadian woman picked up the competitor beside her and launched the flailing body into two others. "Go." Diving, jumping and falling into the water, the nine other entrants did their best to take her down. Working as a semi-united front – just until the obvious winner was taken down – the group was unprepared for their efforts to simply be ignored as years of training came to play and simply dragged them along behind the professional swimmer.

"A _glub_ blub _blublug_!" Went one.

"...!" Screamed another under the water as they continued to power along faster than any of the others could normally manage under their own power.

"&^"£*!" Bellowed the Canadian after reaching the far end of the pool. Not at the dead weight clinging to her various limbs but at the impossible sight that greeted them all.

Standing over the tangled mess of bodies, Jack was holding not just one towel but all of them in his hands. "But, how?" Wiping what water she could from her face, the Canadian was dumbfounded. She had a string of swimming medals and a cabinet full of trophies. It was impossible that Jack had beat them all to the end whilst still wearing his coat. His suspiciously dry coat.

"I just ran around the outside of the pool." Between the tread on his shoes and the grip of the overflow grating, it was easy to pull on a ludicrous lead over the others. "Don't forget, anything goes. Here," Extracting one towel from the pile on his hands, he dangled the rest just out of their reach. "I think you might be wanting these." Clenching his fist tight around the material, he threw the misshapen ball over their head and into the middle of the pool. As Jack grimly walked away to have his card scanned, another brawl broke out in the water.

* * *

Close by, Crow was having a little more trouble with his own challenge. "Monkey bars?" Ahead of him, another competitor slipped from the ceiling with the fifth bar still clutched firmly in one hand. " _Rigged_ monkey bars?"

"No matter how many times you say it, the challenge remains the same." Crow's group had been slowly funnelled into a narrow corridor barely three feet across. "A sequence determines which bars will fall and which will not." Out on the padded floor, the latest vanquisher released the bar and it was quickly dragged into the ceiling through its tethering cables and locked back into place. "Select rungs will not be magnetically held for each competitor but it is up to you to determine which will support you and which will not." Another face rushed by and managed to make it to the seventh of the twenty rungs before she fell. Their current group record was eleven and a sprained ankle.

Looking up at the television in one corner of the small room, Crow watched other trails going on in corridors just like his. A brunette Duellist managed to make it halfway before losing grip, one athletic participant skipped every other rung and still fell early. So far, nobody had made it to the other end of the corridor.

"And that's the challenge?" Another blur brushed past, leapt for the third rung, grabbed it dead-centre in a strong grip and fell straight down. "To get across the corridor without falling?" Nearly invisible red dots at either end of the padded floor clued him in to the detection grid to avoid any doubts about if somebody touched the floor or not.

"Yes." Exasperated by the supposedly brilliant Duellist, the weary officiator was already looking forward to quitting time.

"How has nobody else seen it?" Admittedly, Crow hadn't noticed it the first few times he had been watching either. It was tiny and almost unnoticed by even those looking for it.

"Seen what?" It wasn't hard to act innocent – the judges themselves hadn't been told about the traps, only the correct answers. Reaching the other end without touching the floor was the solution. Nothing else had been revealed.

What Crow had seen was where each hand had been placed. It was the only way to guarantee a fair trial. Weight, size, height. Everything else would be discrimination but where each contestant put their hands was purely by choice. Depending on if the hand was on the left, right or dead centre, each bar would appear to randomly fall. But it was more than that. From what Crow had seen, the pattern also changed depending on where each previous hand had been.

Nobody had fallen on the first bar so that one was safe. Two had fallen far less than the others but anybody who had tried to start further ahead – perhaps guessing at a similar plan to Crow's – had instantly fallen.

"Sorry." Throwing out a hand, Crow stopped the next loser from their certain fall. "I think it's my turn." Making use of the springboard – because the organisers had thought of every detail, including the slightly shorter competitors – Crow grabbed the first bar on the left, the next two in the middle and then hung firmly in the air. Craning his neck as best he could, he smirked at the competition behind him.

It had been a few years since his last 'active security test' or 'burglary' but Crow kept himself in enough shape to pull the odd gymnastic exercise. Swinging gently back and forth, he kept his weight right in the middle of the bar as he counted ahead.

"B," Letting go at the right moment, his left foot bounced off the wall as his right reached forward to grab a particular position on the seventh bar. Flinging himself forward, he rocketed from his spare leg and grasped the tenth bar on the far right in hopes that his pattern would hold. "C," Feeling the slightest drop in the handle, Crow trusted his full weight to it and continued to sling himself forward, skipping three bars and grasping the next in the centre as the onlookers watched in amazement.

"A," Feeling the urge to show off, he ignored the next five bars altogether, bouncing from the left wall to the right and back again. "C." Just as his momentum began to fail him, he launched across once more, grasping the final bar on the right and swung forward again, twisting and rotating in a feat that would have earned him medals in Olympic tournaments. Landing in a low crouch with both arms stretched out to the sides, he glared down the corridor he was facing in a dare to anyone else to follow his pattern if they could. "A-B-B-C-A." Muttering beneath his breath, Crow straightened up and brushed some imaginary dust from his jacket.

It was a simple pattern once you knew how to set it and overcome the problem of trying to remember where you were in it. Whatever computer controlled the bars was a simple one and forced the competitors to adapt their routine to an extent. It honestly befuddled his criminal mind that nobody else had seen it the same way he had. Crow had simply assigned each position on the bar a letter – A for left, B for middle and C for right – and watched patterns emerge in each attempt. Then he simply avoided grabbing any bars in the wrong place and put on a show to throw off anybody who was watching.

"Come on." Shouting slightly to be heard clearly across the gap, Crow could see the gears starting to turn in other heads than his own. "You can do it!" Ignoring the screams coming from across the grid, Crow placed his card against the scanner at the far end and smiled invitingly. "It's not hard once you pay attention."

* * *

Elsewhere in the city, Leo _was_ paying attention and finding his own challenge insurmountable. Panic had set in long ago, sweat was trickling down his spine. Sobbing was coming from the booth to his left and sounds of shattering wood were coming from somewhere further to the right.

"Take your time." Smiling uneasily, even the quiet judge sitting on the other side of the table was able to sense the atmosphere inside the large dome. Not for the first time that day, Leo silently cursed his answers to the entry questionnaire as he studied the problem.

When his group had first come into the covered stadium and seen the rows of small partitions, they were utterly in the dark as to what the challenge could be. Picked off one by one, nobody had been expecting what awaited inside each closed off booth – a quiet judge sitting on the far side of the table, a chair to sit on and a chessboard already set up between them. 'Secure a win in one move' was the goal. Within five minutes, he had thought it difficult. After ten, impossible. By the time an hour had passed, the board seemed created specifically to taunt him. That moment had been two hours ago.

With the board set sideways between them, Leo had the opportunity to observe both sides of the miniaturised battle. Barely more than a novice, he could just about name the pieces and which way they each moved. On the forms for the competition, he had ranked himself as 'Grandmaster' when they asked about his chess ability. It was a silly mistake.

"And I can play as either side?" Shuffling around the table, he tried to see things from the black position.

"Yes. Your only restriction is to secure a win in one move." Somewhere else in the enclosed space, screams started ringing out as a fight was started by an angry loser. "Would you like a pad to sketch out your moves?" A short stack of notebooks was piled in the corner of the tent beside a small tub of pencils.

"Hang on, I think I've got it." Momentarily mapping the suicidal leap of a heroic dark knight, he saw an avenue the pale king could always escape from.

"The knight? It's a temporary solution at best." Sitting back in the chair, she inspected the board herself. Even as Leo had tried to find an answer, so had she. There was an answer there but the one she had been given didn't sit well.

Circling the board, Leo looked at things from a brighter perspective. This time, the same piece he had thought could secure a victory stopped him from making a certain checkmate from the white side. Neither side seemed able to hold ground for long enough to finish the fight for sure.

Somebody knocked on the frame holding the cloth partition upright and ducked in behind the judge. "Thought you could do with a water." Dropping one into a waiting hand, the new arrival understood the urgency not to look away from the game for even a minute as he circled around the board to look at the same problem as Leo. "Hey, kid. You thirsty?" Tearing his gaze away from the board, Leo smiled at the handsome blond-hair blue-eyes combination.

"Only for a win."

"Uh-huh." Ignoring the bravado, a plastic bottle was held out all the same. "Take some water for later as well." Glancing at the table, he examined the puzzle. "How's he doing, Chrissie?" Stretching slightly, the brunette looked Leo up and down.

"Still not giving up. How many left?" Glancing sideways at the young man by his shoulder, the water giver wondered if the answer would count as sensitive information.

"Not many. Fifteen at last count. Junior here is the last one with any fight still left in him." Winking at Chrissie as he clapped a hand on Leo's shoulder, the man left the tent as quickly as he arrived. Part of the young man was proud to have lasted as long as he had. But unless an idea was coming soon, he might just have to give up and hope the rest of...

Give up? An idea sparked in his mind and Leo lent over the board with fresh eyes.

"Ah." Sitting up straighter, Chrissie picked up on the shift in focus. "Do we have a plan?" Fully focused on the board, Leo was starting to unravel the problem presented to him. The reason it seemed like there was no way to win was very simply because there _was_ no way to win. Reaching out a finger, Leo made his single move.

"Black wins." Rolling gently across the board, the white king fell from the table and onto the floor. For a moment, Chrissie just smiled.

"Congratulations." Standing up, she held out a hand for him to shake and another for his card. "You're through to the next round."

* * *

Though nobody knew it at the time, there was another competitor nearby. In Group 22, a unique contender had been silently fuming through the challenge. News of the star entrants had spread with almost impossible speeds as the world reacted to _the_ Yusei Fudo teaming up with _the_ Jack Atlas to form an incredible Duelling Team with a pair of friends.

It wasn't exactly anger but more like resentment against reality. No matter what tricks were plied or gambits played, destiny always seemed ready to thrust the former Signers right in the way.

"Zoning out already?" Staring down at the puzzle, the figure made no move to respond. As one of the last to undergo the challenge, the observers had long ago started losing patience and sanity.

Known affectionately as 'Einstein's Riddle', there was some debate as to whether the famous genius had actually created it himself. It was a logic puzzle of the highest order, designed to test an applicants ability to mentally hold differing facts and knowledge to solve a puzzle. Five houses with residents of five different nationalities, each with a different drink, different favourite sport and different pet. As far as the riddle went, it was a single, simple question: who keeps the fish?

A normal mind could solve it inside an hour, an exceptional one inside ten minutes. A genius took about three.

"German." Ignoring the intricate list of facts, the possibilities and false leads they could construct, a correct answer was plucked from the chaos within seconds. "The German keeps the fish." Shocked by such a fast answer, the assessor could only mutely nod and scan the card before its owner dramatically swept out of the room.

Walking outside the building, a cloak of mystery shrouded the figure as it stared up at a billboard, already playing out the amazing scenes from the four best hopes for the champion's seat. "Signers, always getting in the way." It almost spat in the gutter from disgust. "Time to change that."


	3. Prepare

Sunlight can do different things to different people. It can create joy, lighten spirits or even cause intense sadness. For Crow Hogan, the shaft spearing into his eye through a gap in the curtains was searing his remaining functioning brain cell. Wiping the drool from his face, he tried to lever himself upright.

"Hey." Carefully stepping over his brother, Yusei slumped into a puffy armchair with a large cup of something steaming in his hands. "You look awful." Pushing himself against the end of a couch, Crow felt the almost solid odour of Jack's feet wash over his head.

"'Fuzzy." Was the only coherent word he could squeeze out as he looked about the room. It was Leslie's comfortable lounge. Jack was asleep on the sofa behind him, Leo on the one across a small table and Yusei was sitting in an armchair at the head of the table.

"You lost the sofa to Jack in a bet." It had involved crackers, a pint of soda and that was all Yusei felt he could safely divulge to his thick-headed friend as the memories slowly began to unwind.

* * *

Attempting to navigate across the city with what seemed like every reporter that had ever lived should have been impossible. Against their better judgement, the team was forced to rely on the sort of idea that only Leo's more immature mind could conceive.

"What a great idea this was!" Smiling through gritted teeth, Jack ignored the flashing red lights in his vision as pressure on his skull began forcing his eyeballs from their sockets.

"Yes, really helpful!" Adding an extra couple of exclamation points, Crow tried to keep his balance as a junction let a trickle of cars and a veritable motorcade of Duel Runners cross the road ahead of him.

"How do you move in this thing?" Tugging at the long coat that was constantly on the verge of tripping him up, Yusei resisted the urge to pick it up like a dress.

Realising that the three brothers would be instantly identifiable, they had struggled to concoct a plan that allowed them all to return to the relative safety of Leslie's without being spotted. By the time Leo's idea was finally accepted, Crow had tried convincing his brothers to call a fire engine and Yusei was considering violating international law to see if teleportation couldn't be cracked.

"Relax, you look great!" The only one still wearing his own clothes, Leo was carefully steadying whichever brother seemed on the verge of falling over next.

"I wish I had never heard of 'cosplay'. What sort of idiot would do this?" Balancing with his toes receding backwards into his feet, Jack was on the verge of cutting holes in Yusei's shoes to alleviate his agony.

From a distance of about two miles, the group looked perfectly normal. Anything closer than that and the oddities started cropping up. Jack was wearing Crow's headband, Leo's jacket and Yusei's boots. Yusei was exerting the full might of his intellect to control the billows of Jack's cloak as his feet narrowed to a tiny point in Crow's boots. Tying Yusei's relatively clean shirt around his face in a crude mask, Crow had left his chest bare to the wind beneath his own jacket and was relatively okay with Leo's shoes. Still the novice of the group, Leo's enthusiasm was perfectly selling the gambit as he resisted the constant urge to twirl in Yusei's jacket and was happily stamping in Crow's one size larger boots. Together, they looked like a wardrobe had vomited over them.

"Dudes, can we get a photo?" Dragging Leo in front of him like a smiling shield, Jack counted on the width of the grin to detract from his own sour expression. "Great costumes, man." Melting back into the crowd, the walking afro support probably had no idea she and her hippie partner had just taken a photo of.

"You can't deny it works." Trying to be as unobtrusive as he could, Yusei grabbed the insides of his borrowed pockets and lifted the hem to a manageable height. So far, they had avoided any serious encounters by pretending to be overeager fans dressed up as their teams. In a stroke of unorthodox logic, Leo had even managed to convince them to switch up outfits under the fictional reason of being unable to decide on any one person. It had worked but the resulting discomfort was almost more than they could take.

"Some people think prayer works." Starting to lose feeling in his toes, Jack was stumbling like a drunk as the group supported his sagging knees.

"Ah, so that's how you keep winning." Wrapping one arm about his shoulders, Crow was pleasantly surprised when Jack didn't throttle him to the floor.

"We're nearly there." Grabbing a piece of paper from his jacket pocket – currently sandwiched between Jack and Crow – Leo hurriedly punched in the code for the door to the apartment building. "Aaaannnddd _open_!" On cue, the heavy electronic lock disengaged and Yusei was able to usher the group inside.

"In case I didn't mention." Leaning against a wall, Jack immediately began pulling Crow's from his feet. "These shoes are really uncomfortable."

"Have you tried walking in this coat?" Pulling his arms free as quickly as he dared, Yusei backed his way through a door beside the antique elevators. Slowly walking the windowless stairwell, they gradually swapped clothes and shoes back as Leo led them towards Leslie's apartment.

"Any troubles with your challenges?" Hopping up the stairs as he regained his shoes, Crow was suffering no aftermath from his acrobatic exertions. Unlike most men who worked solely on strength and endurance, Crow kept a certain level of flexibility in his exercise routines.

"They wanted me to win a chess match in one move." No comment was passed when about how Leo was the last one to finish his test. "What about you guys?"

"Swimming race." Regaining his coat, Jack felt like a part of his identity wasn't present unless it flowed about his shoulders. "I might have made a few people angry."

"Logic puzzle." Unwinding his shirt from Crow's head, Yusei swapped them back and regained a fraction of his pride.

"How many teams do you think got cut?" Seventy percent were taken from Jack's challenge, only a small fraction had passed from Yusei's group, barely a handful of Crow's counterparts had made it and there were some from Leo's test who had been either committed or arrested following their ordeal.

"The real question," Reaching the floor ahead of the group, Yusei carefully peeked down the hallway first. "Is who made it." Standing at the end of the corridor, Luna and Akiza were standing in the doorway to Leslie's flat having a very controlled conversation with the armed occupant.

"Leo!" Sprinting the length of the corridor, Luna threw herself at her twin.

"Luna?" Grabbing her tight, the pair swung around in a controlled embrace. "I thought you," Again, the differences in their methods of thinking stopped him from comprehending the detailed reasons she had given. "Were busy."

"Misty gave me some time off." Holding him at arm's length, she gave Yusei a knowing look. "Somebody called her up and asked for a personal assistant for a few days."

"I had nothing to do with it." Switching out for Leo, Yusei gave her a brief squeeze before being exchanged for his brothers.

"If I had to endure this nightmare." Grasping Leo in one arm and Jack in another, Akiza waited for Luna to move away from Crow. "I thought it might be nice to have somebody sane to talk with." Grabbing Crow in a crushing embrace, she completed the reunion eight years waiting.

"You're working with Misty?" Letting Leo explain the situation to a sceptical Leslie, his twin suddenly found herself the centre of attention. "I didn't know you were into fashion."

"Humanitarian aid." A collective breath went out. Friendships were difficult to keep current in such a fast world and the three men would have hated to realise they had lost touch with such a pure soul. "We use the money from her business to fund the efforts."

"Humanitarian, eh?" Folding the gun over her arm, the short-sighted woman seemed ready to accept the group into her home. "I have a leaky pipe in the bathroom. Think you can let me borrow one of your," A trained eye evaluated the group of newcomers and drew certain conclusions. "Fine young men to fix it?" Eyeballs prickled the sides of Yusei's head as his friends stared at him from all angles.

"It would be my pleasure to take a look." Yusei understood the situation perfectly. In exchange for helping him stop Yliaster from gaining untold wealth, privileges and power, he would be their errand boy for the foreseeable future. Not for the first time – in a purely ironic sense – Yusei was looking forward to his early demise. Other triggers that caused such anticipation included seeing vast stacks of paperwork, calls from Trudge, news of Din's latest 'incident' and the occasional explosion/fireball from view of his window.

"Tell me," Handing a shocked Jack her live shotgun and grabbing Crow's arm to use for balance, Leslie struck up conversation with Luna as easily as if they were old friends. "Where have you been recently?" Ushering them all into her home, she directed the boys towards the kitchen and seated them both down on a luxurious couch.

"How we let the boys get everything sorted and you can tells us all about your work?" Dragging the ladies' suitcases through the front door, Akiza directed them towards the spare bedroom she and Luna would inevitably be sharing.

"Where did you find her?" Unsettled by being both held at gunpoint and offered cake by the same person within five minutes, Akiza was concerned for Crow's method of meeting people.

"She's an old friend of Martha's." Despite living on entirely different continents, it was not that big a stretch for his adorable adoptive mother to find them lodgings in a remote city during a housing crisis. Male scientists have long been baffled at the feminine ability to maintain a complicated web of contacts across the globe as equally as female scholars have been mystified at the male ability to not.

"Does she know any embarrassing stories?" Living in the same city as Martha meant that Yusei was subjected to an unfair amount of emotional torture. It would be refreshing to uncover a conspirational nugget from her past to hold his own with.

"Oh, yes. Martha has been... _unnecessarily_ explicit." Leslie's opening statement to Crow had cost him a small fortune for Leo to never repeat. Even so, he would inevitably tell his sister who would mention it to the rest of the small circle.

"I don't suppose she knows about the...?" Crossing their arms, Jack, Crow and Yusei avoided one another's gazes.

"I think." Carefully diplomatic, Jack tried his best to restrain fear. "That we should be exceedingly polite." And they were, for their entire stay. Even when Leslie started a story with 'back when they were still little darlings' over dinner and made Leo choke on a chicken bone through laughter.

* * *

All this and more slowly came back to Crow as the other two men slowly awoke and Luna silently crept into the ktichen in search of coffee.

"Leslie is still asleep." Pulling the door to the living room closed, Akiza appeared only mildly exhausted by the dramatic shift in time zones. "From the amount she drunk last night, it will probably be a while before she wakes up." As participants in the Legend of Duellist Kingdom, the boys had shelved their alcohol in favour of soft drinks and neither Akiza nor Luna wanted to spoil their memories of the competition through the haze of a hangover. Leslie had more than made up for their sobriety by guzzling more than a hardened partier.

"That should give us some time to talk." Flopped in a padded armchair, the leader of their group was nursing his thirteenth cup of coffee. Sensing the severity of the moment, they slowly settled about the room in comfortable poses. Even Crow levered himself into a more presentable pile.

"Plan: we beat Yliaster again, teach them not to crawl out from under their rock and get back to our lives." Laser-focused and refining his plan down to the base elements, Jack voiced what they were all thinking.

"I like it." Still the faithful acolyte, Leo was quick to board the bandwagon.

"Sounds good." In perfect step with her brother, Luna leapt aboard.

"Kill me." Wiping the drool from his mouth, Crow flopped against an armrest beside where Akiza was sitting. "Also, agreed." It was heartening to see his friends so willing to pull themselves into a fighting force so quickly. But Yusei knew from his experience with Akiza that it would quickly change for the worse.

"It's not going to be that simple this time." Finishing off the last dregs of coffee, Yusei gagged on the cold muck as the caffeine set to work on his system. "For the last six years, I've been in contact with a man we've come to call Nanashi." His use of 'we've' went partially unnoticed. A couple of them thought that maybe Akiza had known in advance before giving her the benefit of the doubt and assigning the plural to Yusei and his mystery man. "Until recently, he was in complete command of Yliaster."

"What happened?" Fully awake now, Crow was listening in with fresh ears.

"A civil war broke out. Certain factions were displeased with our arrangement and began working towards their own agendas. Recently, they began unifying under somebody new. Whoever they are, this person is very much against there being any peace between us and Yliaster." Grimmer news could not come at a funeral if only because people were already dead. "Members of the rebellious factions have infiltrated the Legend of Duellist Kingdom to secure the top places for themselves. Nanashi mentioned they could have Shadow Cards or be working through proxy teams. At their highest, there could be more than a thousand teams being controlled by the rogue factions, directly or otherwise."

"Hang on," Still haunted by dreams of being chased by smartly dressed crustaceans, Leo was struck by inspiration. "But a lot of teams have already been cut from the tournament. Isn't it possible that they're all already gone?"

"Even if they are," Stoic to the last, Jack was keeping a question for himself. "We can't take the risk that a few didn't get through. Even one Shadow Card could get a weakling team to the last rounds." They had seen it before and knew it was more than a possibility. Hook the Hidden Knight had almost killed their friends in Team Unicorn and attacked both Crow and Akiza. A fraction of the competition wielding Shadow Cards could mean the difference between a fun tournament and a bloodbath.

"What happens if we win?" Leo had asked the question in a self-serving sense the day before but Luna meant it in the other way.

"Nanashi believes that with their efforts bested – again – by us, the factions will accept his leadership once more." And probably be hideously punished, not that he had made such details clear. "This could very easily be a lost cause. Not only Yliaster but every other team that makes it through will be running at us. If we get taken out of the competition at any point, they win."

It was a sharp turnaround from the World Riding Duel Gran Prix almost a decade before. Back then, only a handful of elite teams had been invited. Now, every novice and amateur had merged with the professional ranks. Skill could do amazing things but luck could still play a decisive role in any Duel. A weak card at the wrong moment would spell their victory or defeat at the hand of Yliaster.

"If we win, Nanashi has agreed to let us go our separate ways for now. In five thousand years – should the Dark Signers rise again – Yliaster will make an attempt to control them." A classic example of 'if not this live, then the next'. "It's not ideal but it's our best chance."

"What arrangement?" People tended to think Jack unobservant but he played that to his advantage when it suited him. "You said these rogue factions didn't like your 'arrangement' with Nanashi." Everyone else had been too focused on the fresh danger in their lives that it had eluded them. Only Jack – who lived on the edge of his seat – had been wary enough to notice.

"Six years ago, a victim of their activities managed to find me." Locking eyes with his oldest friend and rival, Yusei let the full force of his guilt burden the gaze. "To save the lives of anyone who hadn't done anything more than find a few strange indications, I agreed to help them with science problems from time to time." Where she was seated beside Luna, Akiza just stared at her hands curling on her lap. "Every puzzle I helped them solve saved another few lives. Fifty-seven problems and I don't know how many people who got to live for it."

"Our lives..." Staring at a spot out through the window, Crow's mind seemed to be somewhere far away. "Did your deal include us?" Noticing the look in his brother's eye, Yusei drew some wildly inaccurate conclusions.

"As far as all of you were concerned, Yliaster was never meant to meddle with your affairs." Hands of a clock ticked the seconds away, edging closer to a reasonable nine in the morning. "Whatever happened to you was nothing to do with them." It was the wrong thing to say. There was no way for him to know at that precise moment but Yusei had just made an already complicated part of Crow's life that much worse. Any hints were missed as their phones went off in tandem, Yusei the first to reach his and begin reading the message aloud.

" _Congratulations on passing the first round. You and your team are now official participants in the Legend of Duellist Kingdom._ " It was a confusing choice of phrase. Their previous challenge had been officially controlled following their registration. To any reasonable mind, those who had participated should have counted as part of the competition. " _Over the upcoming week, all participants will be required to take part in a physically and mentally gruelling endurance phase of the competition._ " Neither of those categories sounded pleasing. " _For the next twenty-four hours, you may gather and collect whatever supplies you deem necessary but no more than you can transport unaided._ " Horrible suspicions began blooming inside the minds of the professional Duellists. " _Following the current preparatory phase, Duelling Teams may only consist of participating members – no support staff are allowed._ " In the streets outside, shouting was starting to sound as the news spread. " _Once your preparations are completed, ensure you have arrived at the attached destination. Any Duellists who arrive late will not be allowed to further participate. Good luck!_ " Closing his phone, Yusei looked at his friends as the clock struck exactly nine.

"This is it. If anybody has any objections, now is the time to speak up."

"I have one." Emerging from the kitchen with a stack of cans in his arms, Crow looked ready to tear the world apart. "Why are you all just sitting there? Time's wasting." Shrugging on his jacket, Jack seemed infused by the same spirit.

"Are you going outside?" Emerging from her bedroom with a slight wobble, Leslie clutched at the doorframe with one hand. "It's dangerous out there. You should take one of these." As she raised her other hand, the people in her living room instantly dived for cover.

"Leslie?" Piled behind the sofa and the shivering body of Crow, Leo tried to keep his voice as calm as the ginger had the day before. "Can you put down the revolver?"


	4. Monday

Crow's cynical mind had been spot on when it came to identifying the intentions of the competition. Knowing from the start they would be facing too many entrants, the tournament organisers had been setting up events to let the competition whittle themselves down in the chaos. Already cut down to a mere fraction of their original numbers, scores more were eliminated from the contest as an already alert police service drafted every reserve to clamp down on the riots that ruled the mysterious 'preparatory phase'.

Closed off hundreds of shops and formerly adorable privately own little stores turned into death traps as protective owners took arm enough arms to make the constantly combative Leslie envious. In the struggle to secure resources, some took to the sorts of crime Crow formerly performed with the level of skills Leo possessed. In short, they aimed big and got caught.

Those remaining few who had managed to avoid being arrested and survive the looters managed to gather together at the three secure areas set up by the tournament. Although not participating members, the guards at the gate were wise enough to let Luna and Akiza through to see their friends. "I thought you might have to pretend to faint." Tugging a heavy suitcase in either hand, Akiza was playing a game even more tricky than the competitors she was walking past.

"It's lucky they recognised you from the WRDGP." With a bag slung about her shoulders and another on her back, Luna looked like a weekend warrior on a hike. Nobody in their right minds would dare be late for the cut-off and all the remaining players had staggered in with at least an hour to spare. This also meant that worrying shops felt safe enough to re-open their doors to fresh customers.

Trying to gather food the previous night would be an impossible challenge to avoid but the forward-thinking women of the group had hatched a secret plan. From the very second the clock hit nine again, their friends would be unable to get any more supplies. So Akiza and Luna would smuggle them in inside their suitcases.

"Just try and act natural." Following the directions from the guard, they were slowly edging down a thick concrete ramp where the muted din of many voices could be heard. As they walked further down the ramp, a startling sight met their eyes.

A seemingly endless concrete hallway stretched out ahead of them before folding in a corner somewhere in the distance. Chunky openings had been carved out at intervals on either side with Duellists and Duel Runners making camp in each. Some Duellists were repairing and maintaining their machines whilst others were sound asleep from their excursions the night before. A few were even bandaging up wounds as best they could but there were few of the last category.

"Hey," Waiting to one side at the bottom of the ramp, Leo gave his sister a brief embrace and grabbed a bag from either woman. "Hey, Akiza. Come on, I'll show you where we are." All in a rush, he dragged them to a point midway, not noticing the head that had perked up at hearing his voice. Practically diving into a berth just as a loud klaxon sounded throughout the underground structure, Leo breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he collapsed beside three of the greatest Duel Runners he could ever hope of seeing and his own one as well.

"What is this place?" Unzipping the bags, Akiza was quick to hand out the hidden stocks of food, bottled water and medicine.

"Some big American thing called 'Nasty Car' I think." Crow's inflection deliberately dropped the invisible 'r'. He pronounced it as 'nas-ty' instead of the more common 'nars-ty'. "They do these weird endurance things sometimes. Each team has to do as many laps as they can in twenty-four hours. Any crashed cars get brought down here to be mended and they're all checked before the race." Walking down the lengthy ranks of the hallway, several tournament officials were doing just that.

"So what," At that instant, Leo's carelessness and lack of observation came back to take Crow down.

"Groupie alert!" Interrupting what was sure to have been an irrelevant question from Jack, an energetic blur shit into their berth and tackled Crow to the ground.

"What the?" A knife suddenly pressing to his throat was enough indication to narrow down the list considerably. A few pleasantly pressing places told him this was definitely a woman and narrowed the list down to those femme fatales who wanted to see him dead. One was definitely out of the country – Crow was funny in keeping track of his potential murderers like that – meaning that this could only be, "Musume?" Hauling them both upright again, she possibly cracked a few ribs in the tight embrace. "Ack!" Was the last word Crow managed before visions of his entire life began flashing through his mind.

"It's great to see you again." Swinging Crow around in her grip, Musume positively glowered at the rest of the crew.

"What are you doing here?" Possibly the least surprised by her appearance, Leo was quick to blurt the question out.

"I entered the competition." Finally letting him drop to the floor, Crow gripped his knees and tried to inhale as best he could. Still unwilling to share her identity, Musume was hidden behind a black full-face motorcycle mask. A single reflective lens covered her eyes and a reinforced crimson ceramic plate built into the mask protected only her facial features in the event of a crash. They all hoped she had a proper helmet hidden away nearby. Her remaining clothes were simply mundane. A brown leather jacket gave way to deep blue denim jeans with a pair of worn sandals covering her socked feet.

"What? How?" Grabbing Leo next, Musume seemed intent on taking out as much of the competition as she could by squeezing them all to death. "Mask, _gk_!"

"Professional discretion. I don't have to show my face if I don't want to." Leaving him gasping on the floor, she sized up the remaining two members before grabbing an unsuspecting Luna. "What about you lot? I would have thought Yusei and Akiza would be too busy with work and the rest of you..." Words like 'suck' were in the offing.

"We thought it was important that we take the opportunity to get together again." A good Duellist has the ability to sense a bluff. Musume was one of the best and instantly saw through the subterfuge.

"Okay," Checking over their shoulders in case of eavesdroppers, she lowered her voice to an intense level. "What's really going on?" Nobody graced her question with an answer until she hit the nail right on the mark. "Is it Yliaster?" A trace of genuine fear entered her voice.

"What's it to you?" Not ready to trust her then, Jack was the muscle of the group and towered over her.

"If it was," Holding his brother back, Yusei quickly stopped the fight before it could happen. "Would you help us?"

"Always." It came a little too quick to be a coincidence. She clearly had motives of her own.

"Yliaster seems to have fractured. Some factions want to destroy us, others are willing to negotiate for peace." Speaking quickly, Yusei was aware of how close the inspectors were getting. "We've agreed to help Nanshi – the man who used to be in charge – stop the rogue factions from winning the Legend of Duellist Kingdom. In exchange, we all get a free pass." Just not him. Yusei would be called right back and continue to serve until his brain melted.

"I'll keep an eye out." Drawing herself upright, Musume nodded at the figure who had appeared in the opening behind Jack, Yusei and Akiza.

"Team Meian?" Scrolling through his list, the American observer had a hanging gut and a greasy face. Not a great pick for an observer, perfect for a mark.

"Present." Jogging over, Musume threw a sloppy salute.

"Says here you've got no Duel Runner." Although a few non-Turbo Duellists had made it through to this round, the tournament organisers had already expected such an event. Those who couldn't Turbo Duel by themselves were either offered Runners to borrow or use of short-distance drones to allow them to drive cars and continue to Duel at the same time.

"Nossir, I have my Skates with me." Grabbing a bag she had dropped in the berth on her way in, Musume proudly held aloft the innocuous pair of footwear. "With these, I can keep up with just about anything." Lifting a pudgy hand to his face, it was clear the officiator was not amused. Clearly, others had already tried pulling tricks on him that day.

"Great, so do you want to borrow a Runner or a Drone? We've got enough of each." Just thinking about the sheer amount of money being spent was probably enough to give him a heart attack. From the looks of his blossoming third chin, little seemed to not have that effect.

"My skates will be fine." Flopping the fabric over one arm, she held them tight with a death grip. "Tell you what, put me at the back of the queue. If anything goes wrong, I can't get hurt." Waving an arm frantically behind her back, she signalled one of the others to speak up.

"Put us just ahead of her." First to figure out what she had in mind, Crow was quick to follow the lead. "We'll make sure she's no trouble." A gentle hand on the tablet, a thick roll of notes and a simple smile went such a long way.

"Fine. Just be upstairs in two minutes." Pocketing the bribe, a pudgy digit rearranged the order they would take on the track above, placing Musume at the far back with her friends in the penultimate position. "If you have any problems with your equipment, immediately pull onto the grass and await a marshal to assist you." Droning through a health and safety speech, he trailed off towards the end and turned to go early.

"Right," Throwing the rescued clutch of currency back into her own pocket, Musume seemed ready for the off. "I guess this is it." Noticing she was still holding her Duel Skates in one hand, she slipped off a pair of ragged sandals and began sliding her feet into the narrow uprights. "I'll see you out there." Dragging on the other skate, she was quickly ready for the off.

"If we were, hypothetically," They all understood the game. Where 'hypothetically' was purely hypothetical. "To meet one another out there." Not eager to repeat the recent tackle, Crow bravely edged behind Jack as a meat shield. "What happens?"

"We Duel. One of us walks away a winner." Staring into the mask, Crow felt a playful energy behind it. Whatever else had happened to her, Musume seemed intent on trying to enjoy this one point in her life.

"And may the better Duellist win." Sticking out a hand, he waited for her to shake it before grasping the bones in a stern game of weakness.

"Luna and I had better go." Seeing the tips of his fingers start changing colour, Akiza was eager to leave before they could descend into something more bloody. "There's a grass patch in the middle of the track. We can watch from there." Dragging a bag in either hand, the girls managed to leave the berth before Crow could start whimpering.

* * *

Up on the racetrack, Musume was slowly pulled into position behind Yusei and his friends near the back of the impressive display. Rumbling engines seemed everywhere and nobody who seriously wanted to keep their hearing in later years dared sit in the front rows near the track. Every seat was packed, helicopters circled in the sky like sharks hovering over their prey. It was the tournament of the century and it finally seemed ready to get underway. Tension could be cut with a knife but the resulting release of energy might have destroyed several planets.

Screens across the country lit up as the same man who had judged Yusei's challenge appeared to announce the next stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Duellists of all ages. It's the time you've all been waiting for – the _Legend of Duellist Kingdom_!" Screams, hollers and horns drowned out the announcement for several seconds. "Designed by Pegasus himself, the original Duellist Kingdom was set on his own private island where the winner would be granted the chance to take on the creator of Duel Monsters himself." What history remembered and what actually happened were two very different things indeed. "But Pegasus dreamed of a legacy that would last beyond his lifetime and personally oversaw the first steps in arranging the very tournament you take part in here today."

Whispers had long circulated about a secret tournament designed by the reclusive billionaire but they had all been rumour and hearsay. Nobody had actually taken them seriously before. Some said he had designed an orbiting space station to host contests, others claimed that it was actually a series of hidden challenges in a virtual reality. Where nobody was watching, one very perceptive figure was about to be proven right in their instincts.

"Deciding that inviting only select Duellists did not truly capture the depth of his dream, Pegasus ordered that his tournament – this tournament – be open to all, individuals and teams alike." Behind Blue-Suit, a map of the continent appeared. "Like his first Duellist Kingdom, there are no limits or boundaries to where you can go. Your field? The entire continent of North America!" More tumultuous applause followed. "We are currently on the West Coat city of Oceanside." A large gold star appeared on the left of the map. "Your target is Annapolis on the far East Cost." Appearing just above a shoulder, the finishing point on the map appeared. "In five days, all remaining participants will either be in Annapolis or disqualified."

"It's a trap." As the crow flies, it would take several days hard riding just to reach the city. To do so in five days, whilst undergoing a tournament would be impossible for most. Crow knew this and knew they knew it too.

"Of course, many of your are probably already throwing up reasonable complaints. Too great a distance, not enough time to prepare." Some people still had arms in slings and legs in cast from the previous ordeals. "But believe me, when I say the prize is worth it. Our rules are simple – between here and Annapolis, you only have to win eight Duels." Only? He might as well as asked some of them to grab the moon while they were at it. "Some may think it impossible but I have every faith that the winner will make themselves clearly known – the team that wins this tournament will be able to imprint their names in legend. Not just the Legend of Duellist Kingdom but another legend entirely – the King of Games." Nobody spoke. Nobody breathed. Nobody dared move or blink.

It was unthinkable. There had only ever been two true Kings of Games: Jaden Yuki (who had many believed had simply been granted the title by the original holder) and the legendary Yugi Mutou. Even the greatest Duellists of the time were only recognised as the Duel Monster World Champion. To rise above that station was to touch greatness and become a living part of history. Nobody in their right minds would pass up such an opportunity. It literally came along once in a lifetime.

"In keeping with the original tournament as closely as possible," Up on the screens, Blue-Suit was still talking but nobody was really listening. "Until you reach the finish, you may only use what you already have with you and what you can gather yourselves. This will be a tournament to push you all – mentally, physically and psychologically – to your full limits." On the island of Duellist Kingdom, food and water had been plentiful if raw. To travel across an entire continent using only the resources they had gather in one night was suicide. "Finally, to ensure the continued safety of all members, I ask that you take a look at your tournament cards." Seemingly simply chucks of plastic, Yusei could see several being waved around in the rows ahead. "Embedded inside is a tiny tracker. In the event of an emergency, simply break open the card to send off an emergency signal. Tournament officials will be with you as soon as possible." It went without saying that to break the card meant a forfeiture but it was repeated for the ignorant among them.

"No wonder Yliaster wanted to win this tournament so bad." With the next King of Games under their command, there was no telling how far their reach could extend. Jack had merely been a small prop for Goodwin and the end of the world had almost come to pass.

"If we win, do we all become Kings?" Death likely, traps certain and underhand tactics inevitable, Leo was focused on the real problems.

"Well now," Ideas were sparking inside Crow's brain in silent explosions.

Sitting at the front of their little group, Yusei said nothing. It was impossible to not feel the electric tingle running through everything. That pounding which had gripped his head in New Domino was centre just beside his wrist, a Duel aching to be played in the clash of his Deck against another.

"My final request of you for the next five days." Up the the screen, it was evident the announcer was in a hurry to have them off as the bite of enthusiasm caught him. "On tracks around the city, I would like you all to take a single lap together. Win or lose, you are all part of the history of the King of Games." Engines rumbling, the first rows began to move off in heady impatience. "Once finished here, follow the roads to Pala Mesa. Beyond that town lies the entire country that is your field." Skating forward slightly as the movement in the lines filtered back towards them, Musume held out a closed fist to Crow to bump for luck.

"See you out there." Miming an explosion, he saw the wheels on Yusei's Runner start to turn.

"May the better Duellist win." Flexing her legs, she kept the tiny motors in her Duel Skates from activating as she hitched a ride on his tail for the gentle first lap.

"Oh, I intend to." Feeling the open road calling beneath his Runner, Crow watched Musume gently drift into his slipstream as he powered forward. When the gap was a few hundred feet, she let the complex circuitry beneath her feet kick into action. Those voice that had laughed mockingly were silenced as she quickly came abreast of the compeition and began slipping through them with a grace most dancers couldn't match. The chase was on.

* * *

"I can't believe they just drove off and left us." Fuming in rage, Akiza was on the verge of actually calling Yusei and demand he return. Losing the Director of the SRC was probably what politicians dreamed off and the staff feared. Having an angry Din siding against them was far down on anybody's bucket list.

"It's not as if they knew what was going to happen." Acting as the voice of reason, Luna also had the tone of a potential explosion. Twins are among the tightest partnerships possible and seeing Leo just drive off without so much as a wave was making her blood boil. "Or that we can follow them."

"I think," A quiet voice sounded beside them both. "That I can help in that regard." Leaning forward to see around Luna, Akiza wondered if the stresses of the past few months had caused her mind to simply fold up and quit reality. Sporting a pair of flashy running glasses secured across his eyes by an elastic band and with a flowing robe enveloping everything from his head to his knees, Obake looked like a weird monk. "It's good to see you, as always." Turning his hidden gaze, to the lady between them, Obake gently inclined his head a fraction as his right hand tipped the brim of an imaginary had. "A pleasure to meet you." Carefully pulling her friend by the shoulder, both ladies edged away slightly at the sudden intrusion.

"Luna, this is Obake. Obake works at the SRC." Internal monologue screamed the truth and went on to shriek as to how he was even in the same stadium as them.

"Nice to meet you." Holding out an automatic hand, she was amazed when a gentle touch reached out and fastened onto her palm. It shook twice, slow in the movement before being tucked behind his back once again.

"Obake, what are you doing here? I thought that you couldn't leave the SRC right now." She wanted to be more outright about his circumstances but Luna was watching attentively.

"I'm on holiday. Something this big, I've known about it for months. Long enough to clear my schedule slightly." A flat palm reached backwards and slapped a thick metal sheet behind him twice. A slight change of perspective morphed the shipping container into a mobile home of unbelievable sizes. "An... associate has kindly let me give this a test-run. This thing could roll through a nuclear war and come out with all the passengers still healthy." A slight frown tugged at the corner of his mouth for a moment as the bleakness of the statement caught up with him. "A water-filtration system that rivals the space program, adaptive suspension that maps out the road ahead to adjust automatically and six body-contouring silicon-gel beds." The idea of five extra beds had ideas sparking around the shared minds of the two women even as Akiza began looking for the ulterior motive.

"You're going to follow the tournament across the country?" Observing the dust cloud rising in the distance, Obake began rustling his hands through the numerous pockets on his loose leather jacket.

"Of course. With the limitations placed by the governing body, many of the competitors will be at a distinct disadvantage." Finally finding the keys inside his pocket, he began anxiously twirling them through twitching fingers. It had been years since he had used so many words in a month and panic was flaring throughout him. "I intend to operate a charity run truck of sorts. Make sure everybody has a camping bag, plenty of water." Both women understood the idea. On a long journey, bikes and Runners lacked the ability to carry the necessary luggage. If more than a few were headed in the same direction, they would use a 'run truck' to carry the excess. "You are both welcome to come along. I'm not much of a 'people person' and it would be helpful to have a trained physician on hand." From what little Akiza knew of the pale Englishman – and her crumbs of knowledge beat out most other's not even knowing his existence – it sounded like he was trying hard not to sound lonely whilst he extended the invitation.

Pulling back his sleeve to check an old timepiece beneath, Obake carefully did the sort of mental arithmetic that most people needed a calculator and notepad for. "Sadly, there isn't much time to think it over. The Runners will soon be reaching Pala Mesa and spreading out in different directions. If you want to join," Looking up through the veil over his eyes, a slight twinge of sadness awaited at the blank patch of dusty ground beside him. In the middle of his panicky monologue, the prudent pair had withdrawn.

"Hey, Obake." Having hefted their bags inside already, Luna and Akiza were leaning out of the open door with tangled hair drifting easily in the wind. "Hurry up, we've got a race to catch." For just a moment the right side of his face burst into a brilliant smile.

Taking every other of the five steps with a practised grace, he joined the stunned women in a hallway roughly three feet across. It had the sort of decor that graced expensive hotels, all mahogany panels and adjustable lights. Oval panels of jet black were situated in stacks of two at regular intervals down the right as cabinets and a kitchen area slid down the left. There was a sliding door at the rear of the vehicle that was open onto a narrow bathroom with a small toilet and cubicle shower. At the front of the truck was a lengthy drivers cabin that looked like something from a spaceship. Eight seats – one driver, passenger and six behind – had been arranged in two lines with a narrow gap running down the middle. Rows of antique knobs and dials were scattered across the dashboard with a wide touchscreen taking point of pride in the middle. Just by where they were standing at the head of the stairs, a neat little booth had been set up with a comfortable wedge of wooden board keeping the stairs from imposing to one side of the table. They were high enough above the crowds to see out to the horizon where plumes of dust were still rising and there was enough storage space beneath their feet to squeeze in a small car with space to spare.

"Take any bunk you want." Sliding past in the wide hallway, Obake slid back one of the onyx ovals to reveal a compact yet tidy little cabin behind. "This particular model was reconstructed from a mobile operations centre. It was designed for six officers and one driver to use constantly for as long as nine weeks at a time." He was still talking but it was lost on the women. They were starting to bubble over with that nervous energy that erupted just before the start of a holiday or journey of any kind – the thrill of adventure. Easing himself into the drivers seat – positioned traditionally Britishly on the right instead of global standard of the left – Obake made some minor adjustments to the chair.

"Can this thing really catch up with the competition?" Dropping their bags in the open pod, Luna and Akiza shuffled themselves into the front two seats of what they could only describe as the passenger section that sat slightly higher than the driver and navigator seats.

"Don't let the size fool you." An uneasy groan sounded as he settled into the biting point. "It's an advantage." That was occasionally true. Though the truck would inevitably weigh far more than a Duel Runner, it could contain a more powerful engine as a result. Able to output more power, it would be able to keep up with the competition but as seasoned Turbo Duellists, Akiza and Luna highly doubted that it would be able to close the gap. A deep rumble of the engine quelled their doubts slightly and the sheer acceleration crammed them down deep inside as they chased the plume of dust rising in the wake of the competition.

 ** _My apologies for the late upload. Real life got real complicated and caused real delays. I was hoping to cover the first day in more detail but it may have to be added in later instead._**

 ** _Sorry again :(_**


	5. Tuesday

Leaving Pala Mesa had been like wading through a bloodbath. Roads had been closed for the event to start but their ceasefire only lasted until the borders of the town. As soon as the first dozen teams left, instant war broke out. Holograms appeared all around, nobody knew who was where or what was happening. Teams split up and were instantly lost, some crashed into barriers as they tried to illegally drive up the shoulder only to realise too late that they lacked enough room to safely turn. Nobody was safe and everybody was fair game.

Team 5D's had seen this coming.

Instead of trying to outrace the competition and risk getting caught in the same traps as everybody else, Team 5D's slowly puttered along behind everybody else and chose the least troubled or congested routes they wanted. Too distracted by the commotion, even any Yliaster Agents on the lookout for them would have been lost in the crowds. Whilst Runners were destroyed and Duellists instantly disqualified through repeated denials of Duels, Crow gently led his friends down winding back streets until they were free and clear on an open road. The last they had seen of Musume, she had been dancing between Duel Runners with mere inches to spare and gone before anybody could get a good look at them. For the rest of the day, the team had slowly travelled in an easterly direction and run into only two other teams, securing an easy pair of victories between Jack and Crow. After twelve hours solid riding, they had pulled to a painful stop on the borders between Utah and Colorado and simply collapsed a short distance from Route 90 in a cheap set of sleeping bags.

"Ow," Had been Leo's first word upon waking up throughout the night. "Urgh." Was the grunt he had given when the sun started to peek across the horizon.

"How's it going?" Having risked a few hours sleep under Akiza's observations two days before, Yusei felt he could at least make it until Thursday before needing another session. Asking any of them to help with the cerebral inhibitor was not a conversation he was looking forward to having. Jack would stubbornly search for the truth, Crow would see through his lies and getting information from Leo was like water from a sponge.

Staring out across a beautiful landscape with the fresh morning breeze in his face, a gorgeous sunrise in the distance and the heroes he aspired to be littered around him, there was only one thing Leo could think to say. "It all hurts."

"Is he still complaining?" Levering himself upright, Crow's hair was flopping about his face without a band to hold it back. "Try doing this for six years." Rummaging through his bag, an errant boulder was picked out and lobbed into the horizon. In reality, a small stone bounced off a rock about two feet away but Crow could exaggerate anything.

"Yes, just imagine doing it for six years." Still dressed in his lengthy coat, Jack was the only one to have completely staved off the chill effects of the night. "Each one getting just a little more sleep than the last."

"Yeah," Schlepping from his sleeping bag, Crow blearily shuffled into his boots. "It's enough to make a man turn traitor." A pregnant pause was undercut by chill winds as all eyes turned to Jack in the act of unzipping his sleeping bag.

"I shall take great efforts to remember that comment, Crow." Then, without any sign of violence, Jack calmly began packing away his sleeping bag.

"Are you feeling well?" Narrowing his eyes in case of a surprise attack, the shorter man slowly crept backwards. "You were acting normal yesterday."

Their brief interaction with the globally famous Grand Canyon had been Leo pointing it out in a wildly excited fashion, Crow giving it a moderate numerical rating, Yusei launching into a dull explanation of how it came to be and Jack heroically bringing them all back to the task at hand with a blunt "It's a hole in the ground. Mystery over."

"I'm fine." Still with his back turned, Jack looked further up the road to see an unpleasant sight. "Team Lightning."

"What?" Joining Jack in his observation, Yusei could also identify the distinctive style of Runner as Leo began munching his way through a breakfast on the floor. "I didn't expect to see them here." Team Lightning were of the same calibre as Crow but hadn't been heard from in months. It was clear now that they had probably been in training for this very tournament.

"It's no coincidence they're on this road." Famous as the team was, social media was flooded with suspected sightings. It would be easy to track them down whenever they stopped.

Within minutes, the pair of pro Duellists were pulling to a halt only a few feet away from the makeshift camp.

"Good morning." Extending the same manners Martha had drilled into him as a child, Crow extended the hand of friendship. "We were just eating, maybe you would,"

"We challenge you to a Duel." All pleasantries vanished in an instant as the pair squared their shoulders in an unmistakable aggressive pose.

"Can we finish breakfast first?" Holding up one of the energy bars Akiza had smuggled to them inside her suitcase, Leo looked the least professional member of the team as he remained seated on the floor.

"No." Evaluating the levels of threat, a quick decision was made as to who would be their target. "We choose to Duel you. You have to accept or take a loss." Stepping forward from his brothers with the sort of smile that happens after watching somebody ignore all the warning signs and drive straight into the centre of a hurricane, Yusei already had a plan in motion.

"I suppose you thought the rest of us were too hard to take on. Big mistake." Rising alongside him, Jack and Crow completed the image of a trio of angry older brothers for the figure still seated on the floor.

"My granny could take the midget." Still sore about his height, Crow said nothing and threatened intense physical violence through the force of his gaze alone. "And we don't care for a half-baked scientist or foolish pretender." As Jack started twitching slightly, Yusei just continued to smile.

"Leo?" Cramming the last of the bar into his mouth, Leo shot to his feet. "The six members of the 'Monarch' archetype."

"Caius the Shadow Monarch, Granmarg the Rock Monarch, Mobius the Frost Monarch, Raiza the Storm Monarch, Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch and Zaborg the Thunder Monarch." Unperturbed by the list, the Duellists scoffed at the recital. "All monsters have 2400 ATK and 1000 DEF and are Level 6 with the exception of Zaborg who is Level 5." Still smiling easily, Yusei was watching the ease drain from Leo's challenger. "Each has a different ability that relies upon a Tribute Summon and generally targets the removal of cards from the field. An exception to this is Thestalos who discards a random card from the opponent's hand." Standing to either side, Jack and Crow stopped surprise from showing on their faces at the almost encyclopedic knowledge Leo was displaying.

"Level 3, Fire, Fusion." Barking out a quick set of parameters, Yusei dropped his polite smile and let the worry start to build.

"Charubin the Fire Knight. Pyro, 1100 ATK, 800 DEF. Fusion materials: Monster Egg and Hinotama Soul."

"Who is the kneeling figure in the Tyrant's Temper?" At that point, his brother's decided Yusei was going too far. Tyrant's Temper was a Super Rare card that neither had even seen. The chances of it being used against a Duellist were slim at best so there was little reason to even,

"An unnamed warrior, previously seen in The Warrior Returning Alive." Laying a hand on Leo's shoulder, Yusei looked like a hungry animal about to rip apart the intruders to their breakfast.

"He's all yours." Seeing a growing concern and moderate fear, Yusei moved one foot closer. Just the one foot. "What? Did you think he'd be an easy target?"

"Very impressive." Licking his lips, the leader of Team Lightning seemed ready to flee. "But we're not going to be put off by a few parlour tricks."

"Do you really think that our friend would spend all that time memorising everything there is to know about Duel Monsters and not put together some strong strategies?" Stepping shoulder to shoulder with Yusei, Crow stared down the pair.

"He could beat you in three turns on a good day." Joining his brothers, Jack made an imposing figure. "Good news for you two is that he's not been sleeping well. You might even have a chance to score some pints before he beats you."

"Don't forget." With every inch of his reputation backing him up, Yusei delivered a chilly ultimatum. "You can't back out from a challenge. We'll be along in a moment." Watching the pair scurry back to their Duel Runners, Yusei turned the group around and led them back to their own rides.

"Do you really think I can beat them?" Giving his friend's shoulder one last squeeze, Yusei handed Leo the blue helmet from his Runner without a word.

"You go ahead," Nodding respectfully, Crow stepped to one side. "We'll catch up in a minute."

"We just need to settle a few points with Yusei." Reaching for his wallet, Jack gave the exact impression he wanted to give as Leo pulled up to the road to chat with his new foe.

"He's going to get creamed." Dropping the bluff, Crow looked worried for their junior member.

"Obliterated." Jack agreed, sliding his wallet away again.

"Do you think we oversold it?" Chewing the inside of his lip, Yusei hadn't been this worried since Ogino found out he was ditching work. It had been a tough few days.

"Yusei, they're pros who have been Duelling since before the WRDGP." Back when Yliaster had unleashed an army of Duelbots in the contest, Team Lightning had been one of the groups to fall out of the competition due to injuries sustained by the attack. As a result, they had become bitter towards the winning team who they thought had stolen Team Lightning's rightful place.

"There's nothing we can do." Seeing Leo start to grow nervous, Crow waved a hand and sat on his Runner. "We'll just have to hope they're off their game enough that Leo can win."

"Let's hope." Pulling on his helmet, Jack secured it into place. "I hope Leo doesn't beat them too quickly." Duel Runner already turned on, his words carried to all the nearby headsets. "I bet they could make him last at least seven turns." Cramming away their breakfast remains, the rest of the team slowly idled by to where Leo and Lightning were waiting to begin their Duel.

"Do you want to go first?" Enthused by their bravado, Leo recklessly gambled away his advantage.

"Let's do this." Revving his engine, Lightning quickly powered off down the road before Leo could see the fear sweat already accumulating across his brow.

(Turn 1)

Lightning: LP: 4000 SC:1 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

Leo: LP: 4000 SC:1 Hand:5 Field: None Graveyard: None

"I set one monster and one card." Setting up the pitch with a quick turn, Lightning quickly handed control over to Leo.

(Turn 2)

Lightning: LP: 4000 SC:2 Hand:4 Field:1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard:None

Leo: LP: 4000 SC:2 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

"I summon Morphtronic Radion (L4/1000 ATK/900 DEF)!" Unfolding itself across his field, the monster hummed and whirred into life. "While in Attack Position, all Morphtronic monsters I control gain an extra 800 ATK." Shuddering as yellow lightning crackled through it, the monster suddenly became a lot more formidable. "I attack your monster." Negotiating down a steep curve, the trailing group missed Lightning's evil smile.

"Due to the flip effect of my Batteryman Micro-Cell," For a moment, a ghostly pink circle appeared on his side of the field. "I can special summon another Level 4 or lower Batteryman from my deck." Selecting a card on the screen, the Runner spat out a card before reshuffling his deck.

"No," Crow hissed through clenched teeth. "A Batteryman Deck." Like Yusei's Junk monsters or Crow's Blackwing's, Batteryman was a strong archetype.

"Just be grateful there isn't a Speed Spell for Short Circuit." Growled Jack. It was a sobering thought. Short Circuit was a powerful Spell that could only be activated if a player controlled three Batteryman monsters. If they did, the entirety of the opponent's field was destroyed. So far, a Turbo Duel equivalent hadn't been announced.

"I choose the Level 3 monster, Batterman AA!" A gangly young monster drifted beside him with a base amount of 0 ATK and DEF – never a good sign. "For every Batteryman AA in attack position, they each gain 1000 ATK."

"I set two cards and end my turn."

(Turn 3)

Lightning: LP: 4000 SC:3 Hand:4 Field:1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard:1 Monster

Leo: LP: 4000 SC:3 Hand:3 Field:1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard:None

Leo knew he was in trouble. Like his own Morphtronic monsters, a Batteryman Deck could be built around powering up low-level creatures with plenty of spells and traps. If Lightning was anywhere near as good as his reputation, this Duel would be the hardest of Leo's career yet.

"Looks like my Batteryman AA is running low on juice." Beside him, the monster hung its mechanical head. "Not to worry, because I'm bringing out another one for him to play with." Joining the first, another Batteryman AA boosted both their ATK's up to 2000 each. "Looks like you're in for a shock." Watching his Radion explode in smoke and ash, Leo bore witness to an attack that could plummet his Life Point to half in a single blow.

"Morphtronics, Scramble!" Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, the rest of his team watched a pair of black wings swoop down and absorbed the bolt of electricity into itself. "When you launch a direct attack, I can special summon a Level 4 or lower Morphtronic monster from my hand." Although he had escaped unscathed, Morphtronic Celfon was a meagre Level 1 monster that wouldn't last a minute in a straight fight. Thankfully, Leo wasn't planning on a simple brawl.

(Turn 4)

Lightning: LP: 4000 SC:4 Hand:4 Field:2 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard:1 Monster

Leo: LP: 4000 SC:4 Hand:3 Field:1 Monster 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard:1 Monster 1 Spell/Trap

"I activate the ability of Morphtronic Celfon!" Lightning crackling the length of it's gleaming antenna, the little robot's numbered chest began lighting up in a random pattern. "Depending on which number it picks, I can reveal those cards from the top of my Deck and special summon another Level 4 or lower Morphtronic monster." Luck stuck by the plucky contender and Celfon granted Leo a precious gift of four cards. Easily the strongest monster in his main Deck, Gadget Hauler was the first card overturned and even got an empathetic groan from Thunder as he drifted behind the pack. Next was the Speed Spell – Summon Speeder. Finally, he struck gold and pulled out two monsters in a row – Morphtronic Videon and Morphtronic Boomboxen. Videon's ability relied upon Equip cards and could gain tremendous power from them but Leo chose his other monster instead, shuffling the rest of the cards back into his Deck.

"Why does he even have Videon in his Turbo Deck?" Screeching around a fallen branch in the road, the onlookers were bemused by the choice of card. Speed Spells were a do and done business. Equip versions just did not exist.

"Probably for material." Gadget Hauler – one of the other cards that they had seen flash by – received a substantial ATK boost by discarding Morphtronic monsters. There was also the prospect of a Synchro Summon or tribute to activate some effect.

"And for my normal summon, I choose Morphtronic Datatron (L3/1200 ATK/600 DEF)!" Unfolding from a small lighter, the nozzle of a head looked suspiciously like the barrel of a gun. "For my next move, I activate Power-Up Adaptor!" A two-pronged spark plug appeared, building itself into the back of Boomboxen and creating a sparking connection of electricity to both Datatron and Celfon.

"Way to go!" Edging in closer, Crow risked life and limb for a better view of the Duel.

Power-Up Adaptor was a continuous trap that could increase the ATK of one Morphtronic monster by the same amount as another providing the source Morphtronic and another one beside could no longer attack. By choosing Boomboxen, Leo had created a powerful combination.

"Morphtronic Boomboxen (1200 → 2400 ATK) destroys one of your Batteryman AA." Letting loose a solid warble, the monster on Lightning's left exploded in a hail of holographic shrapnel. "But we're not done yet. Boomboxen can attack twice a turn. Go, finish off his other monster." With only half the ATK it's predecessor had, the remaining creature covered far less damage.

(Turn 5)

Lightning: LP: 2200 SC:5 Hand:6 Field:1 Spell/Trap Graveyard:3 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap

Leo: LP: 4000 SC:5 Hand:5 Field:3 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard:1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap

"I've really got to thank you." Feeling a blip in gravity as they sped over a narrow dip, Lightning was unusually happy. "It's not many people that get this far." Pulling a card from his hand, he raised it high above him. "By removing two Batteryman monsters from my graveyard from play, I can special summon the mightiest capacitor, the strongest electric heart in history." Slamming the card into his Duel Disk, lightning began crackling through the air. "Grant me power, Batteryman Industrial Strength!" A solid plume of electric blasted around him to reveal a gargantuan car battery whirling cables in two mechanical arms.

"Oh, he's gonna lose." Realising he was suddenly surrounded on three sides by very angry faces, Thunder powered off after his brother.

"Leo's going to be fine." But Crow's lie couldn't even fool himself. From nothing to everything in one turn, Lightning had just summoned a Level 8 monster with 2600 ATK and a powerful special ability.

"By removing one Thunder-type monster from my graveyard from play, I can destroy 1 monster and 1 Spell or Trap card." Suddenly, Leo's brilliant strategy seemed ripe to fall apart. "I pick your set card and Morphtronic Datatron." For just a moment, it was possible to see Urgent Tuning before it and Datatron were obliterated. With the monster gone and the link broken, Boomboxen suddenly became a normal radio again. "And I now attack your ridiculous robot. Bye-bye Boomboxen." Stabbing both wires into the speakers on the box, the Batteryman sent enough juice through the poor creature to make it explode in agony.

"Why Boomboxen?" Fearful for his friend, Jack was still mystified as to the choice of target. "Celfon is a much bigger threat and would have caused more damage."

"Lightning only has one monster." Gloating up ahead, Lightning was relaxing in his newfound position of power. "Putting Boomboxen in defence lets Leo block one attack a turn." And drag out a stalemate.

(Turn 6)

Lightning: LP: 2200 SC:6 Hand:6 Field:1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard:2 Monster 1 Spell/Trap

Leo: LP: 2600 SC:6 Hand:5 Field:1 Monster Graveyard:3 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

There was little Leo could do to defend himself. He could try for Celfon's summoning ability again but it was a risk that could easily backfire and leave him with only its 100 ATK standing in the way of another attack. Instead, he switched it to a blue defence posture and hoped somebody out there liked him. "I activate Celfon's second ability. While it's in defence mode, I can take a peek at the next few cards in my Deck." This was a much sounder strategy. Literally, any number above one would let him see further into the Duel than he currently hoped to survive. Celfon rolled a two.

"Ha! Is that all?" Tuning out the derisive noise, Leo focused on his future draws.

"I summon Morphtronic Cameran (L2/800 ATK/600 DEF) in attack position." It was a transparent move. He clearly hoped to take advantage of the effect somehow. "I end my turn.

"That was bold." Impressed by the young man's strategy, Yusei looped his brothers into a separate channel than the other three figures on the remote road.

"But clever." Always slow to begrudgingly grant praise to anyone else, Jack seeped out his appreciation like slime from a mould. "That Batteryman creature needs a Spell or Trap to target. Unless there's one on Leo's field, Lightning has to rely on raw power." And there was certainly plenty of that to go around.

(Turn 7)

Lightning: LP: 2200 SC:7 Hand:6 Field:1 Monster 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard:2 Monster 1 Spell/Trap

Leo: LP: 2600 SC:7 Hand:5 Field:2 Monster Graveyard:3 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

Lightning ground his teeth in anger. Leo had been granted a sneak peek into his future. It might only be two cards but that had been enough for him to create an obvious strategy. It was no bluff either. Leo was notoriously bad at bluffing. All his additional Speed Counters had been building up to a combination of the Speed World 2 effect damage. But there was no way Leo couldn't not see that coming and by placing an obvious trap, he had ensnared Lightning in a more nebulous psychological one. Now, the only way out was to pick a third option.

"I destroy your Celfon with Industrial Strength." Watching the tiny phone shatter and vanish, he felt a twinge of vengeful satisfaction. It appeared Leo wasn't as smart as the rest of his team. With Celfon gone, his ability to summon extra monster or look ahead had been cut off.

(Turn 8)

Lightning: LP: 2200 SC:8 Hand:6 Field:1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard:2 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap

Leo: LP: 2600 SC:8 Hand:5 Field:1 Monster Graveyard:4 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

Barely looking at his card, Leo slapped it down on the field. "It's time your Batterymen met my Morphtronic Vacuumen (L1/0ATK/0DEF)." Seeing the tiny monster in defence position and realising it's potential, Crow let out a whooping cheer. "I attack Batteryman Industrial Strength with Morphtronic Cameran." That loud victory bugle ended in what sounded like a choking noise.

"What's he doing?" Morphtronic Cameran dissolved in a shower of sparks and explosions as Thunder looked on in panicked confusion.

"Oops, my bad." Riding through the smoke of his destroyed monster, Leo was finally getting back up on his feet. "With my Cameran destroyed, it managed to leave behind a little swan song from the graveyard. Welcome back, Morphtronic Boomboxen!" Warbling joyfully at returning to the field, the monster was set in an aggressive attack position. And Lightning finally saw the beginnings of a scheme.

"I activate the effect of my Vacuumen." Both noozled arms shooting across the field, Leo's unintimidating little machine grappled at the trailing leads of Lightning's star monster. "I can equip it with a monster from your side of the field." Meaning his avenue to attack twice with Boomboxen was unobstructed and open.

"Wait," Struggling to adjust to this new reality, Lightning was faced with a horrifying realisation. "You tricked me. I could have won. _I could have won!_ "

(Game Over)

Winner: Leo

"You made a mistake." Breathing heavily through his win, Leo's smile was dazzling to behold as Lightning rolled off his Runner onto the ground. "When you summoned Batteryman Industrial Strength, you should have targetted Boomboxen instead." Glaring up at him, Lightning seemed on the verge of exploding. "Datatron has the same stats but a different effect – it couldn't block your attacks." That pressure was building, rising. "But Vacuumen might have still been enough to turn the tables anyway." From out of nowhere, Lightning burst out laughing.

"Kid, you're really something." Throwing himself upright, Lightning looked at Leo with fresh eyes. "Maybe we would have won the WRDGP, maybe we wouldn't. But today, I lost fair and square." Holding out a hand, he let Leo happily snap it. "How many wins have you got now?"

"Including you? Three." Taking his helmet off, Leo lent it on the handles of his Runner.

"Thunder and I are at four. We'll see you at the finish line, one way or another." Waving with new respect, the two brothers quickly pulled away down the road.

"Nicely done." Grappled from behind, Leo found himself choking very slightly in Crow's grip. "Just don't get cocky."

"Like you can talk." Shoving his brother aside, Jack struck a pose. "It's clear he's destined for great things. Somebody like you wouldn't understand." Tackling his brother about the knees, Crow drove Jack to the ground.

"Nicely done." With the sun beating down on his helmet, only Yusei's heartfelt smile was visible in the opening of his helmet. "I had complete faith in you." In the end, they may have only been putting on brave faces but some level of them truly believed that Leo would grow into a great Duellist.

"Can we finish breakfast now?" Chuckling in good humour, Yusei removed his helmet and watched his two brothers fighting on the ground.

"Leo, we can probably do lunch as well." As the pair moved the Duel Runners off the road to complete their meal, Jack and Crow continued to pound away at each other in the chill breeze of the morning.

* * *

To even attempt the lengthy trail of the Duellist Kingdom without preparing more than enough supplies was the height of folly. Bottles of water could leak, food could spoil before the packaging was even open. Computers could stop working and misread maps lead to wrong destinations. Tires could burst on traps left behind by duplicitous competitors.

This last was exactly what had happened to Team Pobedonosnyy.

"They are all dead." Standing almost painfully upright, the three grizzled Russian bears seemed on the verge of actually levitating from the ground slightly.

"What was that glass doing in the road?" Remains of several beer bottles had been strewn down a short stretch of road they had just crossed.

"Stupid children, careless adults, what does it matter?" A perfectly balanced triad of power, each man was as wise as the next and twice as strong. "We must face the choice." Lying on a small boulder between them were the three plastic cards they had been given at the start of the race.

"Surrender or try for help?" Cell phones were useless in the hilly terrain they were passing through. Signals lasted only a few moments at most and never long enough for a call to be made.

Staring down at the tiny items, they each contemplated the decision that lay before them.

"A different direction for us all? One back to the town, one up the hill, one ahead on the road?" Pondering the idea, it seemed a strong alternative to surrender.

"No." Eventually, rationality had to override their pride. "Two might get lost, one would end up dead. We wait for the chill embrace of night."

"If nobody comes by then?" Acting with minds unified by years of companionship, they each spoke only to hear confirmation.

"We shall push our machines and ourselves until the morning sun shows us in both civilisation and defeat." With that decision firmly made, two of the three men walked off the road to sit in the cool shade of a tree that grew beside the tarmac. Their third identical face walked out into the middle of the road and simply stood there. If traffic approached from any direction, it would be unable to miss seeing him.

Their last contact with civilisation had been a small town called Kingman roughly thirty minutes ago. It may have only been a short drive but at the speeds they had been travelling, the resulting walk back would take over twelve hours. Without transport, it would be a difficult journey to attempt and the only buildings had been the ruined husks of isolated settlements that had long since been crushed by harsh economic times.

"Something comes." Good eyes had spotted a faint dust cloud forming somewhere in the distance behind them.

"Already?" Barely a few minutes had passed since they had made a grim decision. Including their stop, it had been barely more than an hour since they had last seen a friendly face.

"Maybe somebody followed us." Rejoining their man in the road, the group carefully examined the rapidly approaching signal.

" _Nyet_. We follow main road until last minute. Nobody should know where we are." It didn't rule out the possibility of followers but did cut the pool down to nasty proportions.

"We have no weapons or help." Thinking as one, their lengthy partnership allowed them to process the problem in identical ways. "Shall we hide?"

"Foolish idea." Not that they hadn't all been thinking it. "Without aid, we will certainly lose. Let us see first and act after." Barely a slow curve of the road away, whatever was kicking up the dust was projecting no noise ahead of itself nor creating a rumble in the ground.

Thundering into view, the gleaming silver shape seemed undaunted by the grime in the air, shining dully despite a thick coating. Air was whispering away from it, masked by the deep hum of a powerful engine. Tinted windows prevented the group from seeing inside as it bore down on them at speeds that seemed impossible to stop. Rapidly stepping off the road, the three Russians watched the truck slowed to a sudden halt mere inches from their crippled Duel Runner. Billows of smoke and screeching tires gave it substance at last as momentum dragged the dust plume over it, hiding a door that slammed open in the tense moment.

" _Parusina!_ " For some reason, the first garbled Russian word translated to 'sailcloth' as the dirty mist slowly cleared. "No, wait, that's not right." As one, they looked up at the smiling face and felt the faintest flicker of fear deep within their hardened souls. There were stories told in the dead of winter in the confidential bond between child and _babushka_. Stories that the devil never showed up in a cloud of smoke to claim anything but the purest souls brought low. No, if they were unlucky enough, if they were cursed by fate to be taken, a _nechist_ would show up with a smile on the face and everything they could want in tow. This figure with hidden eyes, an empty smile and skin paler than a corpse seemed to have stepped right from their darkest legends. "Ah yes," Pulling his hood up as he stepped into the glaring sun, Obake finally found the correct word. " _Zdraastvweetye._ " Literally 'be healthy' it was the formal Russian greeting he had chosen from a guidebook mere minutes before.

"We speak American." Not out of simple politeness, the Russian team were hoping to avoid hearing the baby-talk coming from the full-grown adults stepping from the truck. "Who are you?"

"Us?" With already practised efficiency, Akiza and Luna were opening the wide panel on the side of the truck and picking up bottles of water and parcels of food for the team. "We're just here to help." Switching out for the ladies, he began squatting through the mountains of cargo in search of fresh inner-tubes for the tires and a set of puncture repair kits.

"How did you know where we are?" Unsettled by the overwhelming surge of goodwill, the sceptical group were wary of a hidden trap.

"Your tournament cards send out frequent location updates." Distracting Ivan – because Luna always took the time to learn names first – with a cool bottle of water, she answered his question as Akiza checked on their minimal first-aid supplies. "When we saw you hadn't moved in a few hours, we decided to come and check up on you." It was true that the Duellists had all already figured out how to find other broadcasts with the signals but it was news to find out the public could manually track them. Until they physically crossed paths, the only information each team could determine was location and direction of another signal.

"Heading for Flagstaff was a smart move." Grabbing bundles of bandages and antiseptics, Akiza crushed the resisting Russian with a will of iron. "But you should have taken the I-40 instead of Route 66. Few people travel this stretch of the road." Infamous though it was, the stretch of Route 66 these Duellists were on had only recently been reopened following essential repairs and renovations. Diversion signs were still up in some areas and locals had fallen into a pattern of avoiding it.

" _Da_. We were hoping to gain some ground here." Meaning going way beyond safe speeds where nobody would stop them. "Others decided to go through Las Vegas and Denver instead." A few friendly rivals had peeled off with promises of a reunion beyond Kansas City. Whoever reached St Louis first would be allowed to take the first turn in the Duels. Unfortunately, the three friends had taken a wrong turn and lost a substantial amount of time, hence the shortcut and breakdowns still far behind.

"We look forward to it." With inner-tubing wrapped around him like so many nooses, Obake finally managed to creep out from his little cave. "I've read your profiles. Stunning, simply stunning." Obake cooed appreciatively as he piled the equipment in a small head beside the road. "A shame the news feeds here (and a few other places too) are calling you Team Pobedonosnyy. It misses the true depth of the original Russian. Triumphant, victorious, victors."

"We still do not want your help." Standing back slightly, the enormity of a hulking Russian frame risked blotting out the sun.

"Of course not. Nobody ever wants help until it's too late." Hidden behind his glasses, Obake watched as Akiza and Luna distracted two of the men with spare food and blankets respectively. "So we'll simply take our leave. No money has changed hands, no favours asked or given and there is no way the competition can penalise you. But, unless I'm very wrong, you'll look for some way to pay this opportunity back one day. One day, somebody will ask for your help. Just be there to offer it." Gently holding the door open for the ladies to enter first, Obake paused for a moment in the opening to encompass the world in both arms. "To be one of the few to cross the far away finish line? Even if you do not make the finals, reaching them would be a victory over an entire continent trying to stop you. Victory, gentlemen. Победоносный!" Ending his little speech with their true team name in its original Russian – triumphant, victorious, victor – the door was closed and the van quickly pulling back onto the road and coasting down the highway.

"What do we do now?" If they had been more empathic persons, the three Duellists would have left their shiny gifts and started pushing their Runners back down the road. But society had already made deep roads into their psyche. Fear for losers, to win at any cost.

"We fix what is broken." Reaching for tools, they nodded in agreement with one another. "Then we show the world what we can do."

Already far ahead, Obake was taking corners at speeds that shouldn't be possible as Luna and Akiza strapped themselves into the middling tier of seats.

"So, are you going to call him?" Instantly enchanted by Luna's smile, Ivan had scribbled his contact information on a Duel Monsters card and shyly passed it across.

"Just as soon as you call Vsevolod." Equally smitten by Akiza's take-charge attitude, the target of her attentions had suggested maybe meeting up at the end of the tournament for a celebratory drink.

"Just as soon as I learn to pronounce Vsevolod." Though she had a smattering of Russian vocabulary, it was still a difficult language to pronounce at times.

"So that would make my guy," Swerving dangerously to avoid a swooping bird, Obake's head rebounded off a window with no visible sign he had even noticed. "Rostislav?" As bad as Akiza's Russian was, Obake's was far worse and every word sounded like it had been taught over a faulty intercom. "What cards did you get?" More practical than passionate, he was only intrigued by the material gain from their encounter.

"Wolf." A normal Level 3 Monster, it was a common card that had little in the way of support or use. "What about you?"

Turning over her card, Luna was in for a nasty surprise. "Nothing much." With mysterious womanly senses that no man could understand, Akiza saw right through the bland lie.

"Mind if I see?" Recognising the determination of her friend, Luna quickly shoved the card into the small of her back and pushed herself into the padded seat.

"Nope." Glaring at one another in a battle of wills, Akiza reached down and nudged Obake's headrest with her shoe.

"Can you quickly steer right?" Realising too late what her friend had planned, Luna was helpless to stop herself flying to the left as the van took a sharp corner at speeds. Reaching across the gap, Akiza was able to pluck the card from where it had been embedded in the imprint of Luna's back. "Is this really?"

"Time Seal." A Normal Trap card, Time Seal was a rare and sometimes highly sought after card. It had the simple yet powerful effect of skipping the opponent's next Draw Phase. "It was probably just a mistake."

"Maybe he's sweet on you." Luna blushed slightly and crammed the card out of sight. "Where are we going next?" Leaving Luna to stew away in friendly embarrassment, the pair looked down as Obake fiddled with the computer screen set into the dashboard. Steering with only one eye on the road, he tracked the movements of the Legend Duellists spreading and converging across the country.

"Team The Arm and Team Burning should be meeting somewhere near the Grand Staircase-Esc," A lengthy name for a national park almost proved fatal as he grappled with the steering wheel to take a sudden corner. "Somewhere north of here." Focussing on breathing again, the two women couldn't deny that Obake's driving technique certainly made them feel alive. Maybe it was the constant brushes with death that put everything in perspective.

"Burning may have an advantage." Using the tablet built into the chair in front of her, Akiza was studying information on the team. "They've Duelled all across America before. The Arm's don't know the terrain as well as they do."

"Team The Arm have better use of Trap Cards." Already stepping ahead to look at past victories and defeats, Luna was studying their pattern of play. "If they can take disrupt Team Burning's play, they could easily win."

It was already becoming a routine. Obake had a knack for picking out upcoming Duels or competitors in distress and make all haste to reach them. Then they would either hand back and watch the Duel or close in and deliver whatever aid they could. Each goodwill trip seemed to hardly make a dent in the endless mountains of supplies hidden beneath the truck but the massive vehicle was as nimble and fast as any creature of the land. In between, the pair of passengers would debate who would win upcoming Duels or assist Obake in selecting their next destination.

Hearing the pair dissolve into more complicated Duelling techniques than most people were familiar with, Obake silently set a course to take them around the outskirts of Flagstaff and up past the famous Grand Canyon. On most days, the roads around the national park would be cluttered by clutches of travellers intent on seeing what amounted to a gaping hole in the floor. For the sake of the less sturdy vehicles, Obake hoped that today wasn't one of those. At the speeds he travelled, anything with less staying power than a mountain would simply bounce off.

 _ **Hello again! As you can see, this chapter is longer than most previous entries with over 6500 words (not including this last bit).**_

 _ **As you can see, it also features the first Duel of this part of the series. I originally thought about using one of the older Duellists but decided it was time to show how much Leo had grown in eight years.**_

 _ **Tune in tomorrow (or whenever you happen to read the next chapter) for a shocking revelation that will have long-lasting ramifications.**_

 _ **Remember: Like it? Hate it? Hyper-intelligent fish-person? Leave feedback of any sort in a review. It's always nice to hear a voice.**_


	6. Wednesday

After two days hard travelling with Obake, Leo and Luna were starting to genuinely like their peculiar driver. Not a decision went past they couldn't have a say in, his cooking skills were mediocre but compensated for by expensive and refined ingredients. By day, they ricocheted across the vast landscape to hunt down Duellists that were running into difficulty or chased down Duels to watch the monsters rip one another asunder. In the evenings, Obake would prepare dozens of meals capable of feeding dozens, all carefully packaged and stored away in the chill refrigerator near the front of the truck as both Duellists answered never ending questions about Duel Monsters.

On the Tuesday evening, they came to a stop about five miles north of a small town called Sabetha in roughly the middle of the country. Obake had pretended it was to keep apace of the competition and be in an ideal place to reach as many contestants as possible. A peculiar twitch at the right corner of his mouth had smelled of something afoot but Akiza extended a brief benefit of doubt. When she and Luna retired for the evening – following a dinner consisting of green beans, several types of salad, chorizo, chicken curry, lamb curry and pasta pots to name a few of the endless food parcels – he had still been slaving away at the mountains of food.

When a bedraggled Akiza emerged from her room at quarter-to-six, she could almost have believed he was still on the same run.

"Don't you ever sleep?" Reaching for the cupboard of mugs above the counter, he smoothly stepped to one side to inter the latest batch of fish sandwiches in the cool fridge.

"I slept about four hours in the chair." Unlike the luxurious but compact quarters she and Luna used, Obake simply folded down the two highest chairs on the right of what he dubbed 'the cockpit' and covered himself with a scratchy blanket. When pressed for an answer, he always managed to change the subject. "Breakfast options include," Checking which foods needed eating next, he uncovered a large pack of two-dozen eggs with an expiration date of five minutes. "Anything with eggs." Cracking several into a bowl, Obake added cream and cheese before whisking with a fork from the drawer by his hip. "Frittata?"

At some point in the night, he must have showered and changed clothes because his hair was still damp. As for the flowing robe he had been wearing, Luna had diplomatically pointed broached the subject with a subtle: "That's a nice robe. Where did you get it?"

"It's not a..." Wriggling free of the garment, he had crammed it beside his seat. "Look, I had some trouble with the size charts, alright?" It should be noted that American sizes tended to be that much more... impressive than the Japanese ones. Whereas Obake sized in at either a Large or X-Large – the use of 'X' for 'extra' eternally haunting him – back in New Domino, buying a simple hoodie had resulted in him being mistaken for a monk no fewer than five times on his way to the racing circuit to watch the dramatic start event. Afterwards, he wore a simple blue long-sleeved dress shirt with a constantly changing array of t-shirts underneath.

"That sounds nice." Gathering her washkit and some spare clothes, Akiza headed for the tiny bathroom at the back of the truck.

Alone in the silence, Obake began carefully frying onions in a pan and sprinkling diced pepper into the mix in his bowl. Using the top of his trainer to lever open the cupboard by his knees, he stopped beating the mixture only long enough to withdraw and toaster and set some bread cooking. Adding the onions into the mix, Obake spread it evenly around the already hot pan and let it cook itself as he carefully buttered a single slice of toast and poured himself a glass of water.

"Good morning." Sliding back the panel to her own room, Luna was dressed in a pair of baggy comfort trousers and a hoodie that was more suited to her size that Obake's had been to him.

"Good morning." There were few people in the world Obake actually enjoyed the company of instead of respecting and appreciating. Luna's constant good manners and gentle nature meant that although they weren't actually friends, he did make a point to listen when she spoke. "Breakfast is vegetarian frittata with onions, red and green peppers and what I'm beginning to suspect is not actually horsemint but spearmint." In the same logic that had inspired Yusei to grow a herb garden for Hoshi to claim, Obake had a variety of small pots in a wire shelf above the sink.

"What is this world coming to?" Raising a critical eyebrow at the cheerful satire, he methodically flipped the breakfast dish into a new pan to let it cook throughout. "Is Akiza in the shower?"

"Indeed." Taking a bite from his toast, he chalked it up as another missed opportunity to eat some before it went cold. "She went in a few minutes ago." Noting the time on the display at the front of the truck, Obake slipped his hand into his right pocket and withdrew a small packet containing five pills. Slipping them into his mouth, he chased them day with a quick swig of water from a cup on the side.

"Mind if I ask what they are?" For the last few days, Luna had watched him take the drugs like clockwork and could only contain her curiosity so long.

"Two painkillers, a vitamin D supplement, another for nitric oxide and one sugar pill to make them easier to swallow." Feeling a twitch run down his arm, Obake grabbed at his right shoulder. "Salad?" Splitting the Spanish dish perfectly down the middle, he slipped each portion onto a small dish and reached for a bag in the fridge.

"Just a bit." Luna had the good sense not to be as wrapped up in her appearance as some people and didn't cram herself with as much salad as she could lay her hands on. It was a constant part of her healthy diet but nothing more. Behind her, the bathroom door opened and Akiza emerged with her lock hair pulled back in a towel.

"Just in time." Sticking a knife and fork into the other dish, Obake gently placed it down beside Luna's. "Anything to drink?"

"Coffee would be wonderful." Throwing herself into the booth, Akiza tugged her cotton jumped into a more comfortable position. "Milk, no sugar." For whatever reason, Obake didn't object to being treated as on-hand staff.

"Luna?" Mouth already full of frittata, Luna covered her mouth with the back of one hand and shook her head carefully.

Drawing some water from the tap, Obake tumbled the rest of the eggs into a large pan and began hard-boiling them. Finishing her breakfast, Luna carefully added her plate to the pile in the dirty sink and rotated through the shower. As she came out, Akiza was turning her phone on to check for messages and Obake was gently placing a freshly peeled egg in a small jar of sea-green liquid.

"Vinegar." He explained, giving the small jar a shake. "Leave it in there for a few days, pour it out and leave any excess vinegar to drain and you've got the perfect boiled egg."

"Never mind that." Finally finished booting up her phone, Akiza was delighted to find a missed call only minutes before from a number she recognised as the SRC. "I was hoping to get to show you my new friends sooner or later." Dragging Luna into booth beside her, she immediately called the number back and was automatically redirected to a video call as the screen cleared.

Din, Haruka and all her oddball friends had squeezed into a smaller version of the lab Akzia worked in with the irate scientist. Clusters of test tubes and rows of biological texts in the background pointed towards Koharu as the owner. A disassembled mechanical limb gave final proof to the theory as they all shouted various greetings.

"And you're sure she can see us?" A bloodshot eye appeared uncomfortably close to the camera as Din tried to peer through the lens to see Akiza's face.

"If you stand with the others, I can probably see you all." As he retreated, a slight glare on the top of her screen told Akiza her image was being projected on the wall behind the camera. "How are you all?"

"Din bit somebody again." Quickly stepping out of biting point himself, Tom was unusually eager to share the news.

"What he means to say," Out of her robotic suit, Koharu was sitting in a padded chair near the front of the group. "Is how are you?"

"Getting along." Looking up at Obake, she saw him raise a silent finger to his mouth. "Travelling with a few friends at the moment. Yusei keeps giving me the slip."

"Didn't Dr Ogino say you were meant to be keeping an eye on him?" What Ogino had actually said involved phrases like 'you owe me for this' and 'don't think I wont collect' as she effectively granted Akiza paid leave to 'observe Yusei' and enjoy a holiday.

"Remind me when the last time he attended a departmental meeting?" Still the new kid on the block, Akiza had learnt that the most popular rumours centred around how far the head of the SRC would go to avoid meetings. Din's most gruesome was of a time Yusei hid in the morgue and was almost cremated for his troubles.

"Fair point. We just called to check in and see how you were doing." An uneasy smile from Haruka revealed the bluff. She couldn't lie if her life depended on it.

"I'm fine." Knowing how her friends thought, she picked up the trail of breadcrumbs left behind. "Can you tell me why Din bit somebody?"

"To be fair," Giving a gruesomely time burp, Din seemed as uncouth as ever as the rest of her friends spread about the lab. "That bastard actually kicked me awake. I thought he was an armed hostile."

"Did he really kick you awake?" Sensing barely a grain of truth, she pushed slightly harder. "Or maybe you just didn't want somebody claiming recognition for your work?"

"Point is," Glossing over the accusation, Din swiftly moved on. "All he managed to scre... mention was this guy just wanted to know more about you?" It was unwelcome news. Yliaster's rogue factions had to know Yusei was working against them.

"Any reason why?" Sharing a look with Luna, they both leaned in to listen closer.

"Word is, somebody lodged an anonymous tip with Human Resources that you're living with Dr Fudo." Deep as his voice was, the sentence took on an even graver overtone. "It seems they've launched an IA2-48 against you. Only reason I can tell you that is because it's only a rumour and I have no idea what it is." Everyone else was carefully looking away from the camera and staring at one of the boards in the back of the room. If anyone had a recording of this call, they would all be able to claim ignorance of the facts.

Lifting her gaze beyond the tiny screen, Akiza saw the smallest inclination of Obake's head in a tiny nod. "That's okay." Smiling emptily back into the screen, she tried not to let on that anybody knew anything. "I can get the official report when I get back." Small flickers of one normal eyelid indicated he had caught onto her real meaning.

"Right, well. Keep an eye on our esteemed leader out there. Don't let your flabby bottom slow you down." A disgustingly dirty palm reached out to grasp the camera.

"No, Din, wait." Garbled sounds of crunching plastic echoed dimly as he crushed the fragile device in his powerful grip.

"He's certainly different." Akiza had mentioned Din when she and Luna had been catching up but seeing him in action was something else altogether.

"That's one way of putting it." Looking up at Obake, she watched him carefully remove the remaining shell from a series of boiled eggs. "Do you know what an IA-2-48 is?"

"An _IA2_ -48 is the form for permanent cohabitation of staff members." Deftly slicing the eggs, Obake continued adding to his seemingly endless supply of boxed meals. "Anything longer than a month tends to get pinged. Three is regarded as cause for a permanent arrangement."

"So what happens?" Leaning against the table, she tried to judge the movements off his facial muscles.

"Human Resources typically assigns an auditor to review the arrangement. Research will be done into how your personal and professional lives balance out, is this too much pepper?" Giving a couple of grinds into the mix, he shook the condiment in apparent confusion.

"Maybe one more, just to be safe." Giving another grind, he slipped it back into a rack and began divvying up the egg among meals he had previously completed. "What happens next?"

Closing the door, he wiped some condensation from the front of his glasses. "Some people might not like the arrangement but it works a lot of the time." Rolling up his sleeves, he set to work rapidly cleaning and drying the small pile in the sink. "Depending on the report submitted by the auditor, the relationship will either be sanctioned or formally requested to dissolve." Scrubbing plates and wiping them clean in swift movements, he was already down to cutlery as Luna shelved the plates in a cupboard. "If the relationship ends up being rejected, another auditor can review the case but the ruling usually sticks."

"I don't suppose you could work some hacking magic of yours." Slipping the phone into her pocket, Akiza stretched her arms in the galleyway.

"What do you mean?" Carefully brushing away at a sharp knife, Obake was unusually tense at the question.

"You're good with computers. I heard there was this thing you did a few years ago where" Nerves breaking, Obake dropped the cloth in his hand, wrapped an arm about Luna's neck and dragged her backwards a step as a sudden hostage. An instinctive attempt to wriggle out ended when he placed the back of the knife against her throat. It was a shocking and unexpected move that only got more inexplicable.

"How long have you two been working for Yliaster?!" Freezing in his hold, Luna and Akiza locked eyes at the word. Neither of them had expected to encounter the group whilst riding with Obake. Not only did he know of them but he seemed to think they were working for them.

"Who's Yliaster?" Deciding to play dumb for now, Akiza made no move toward or away from Obake as he held the knife in a deadly grip.

"Fanatical religious sect, eyes all over the globe." There was definitely something going on but neither Akiza nor Luna had ever heard Yliaster described as a religious organization. From the outside of their hidden fights, it could easily look that way.

"I promise." Slowly edging closer, Akiza spoke in a calm voice as the knife as shivered in his grasp. "We don't know what you're talking about."

"Liar!" Dragging Luna backwards towards the cockpit, Obake tried to figure out a way to escape. Jumping through a window would take too long, even if he threw Luna as a distraction. The only way out was the door behind Akiza. Nobody had thought to design the truck to have a handy escape-route. It was more designed to stop people getting inside in the first place.

"Obake, liste" Between syllables and vowels, Luna drove her erratic elbow directly into his solar plexus with the force of a small boulder. Acting on reflex, the grip was loosened and Obake stumbled backwards a step. If he had not been dwelling on suspicions already, the fight could have very easily escalated. "We're not Yliaster." Raising her hands, Luna made no move to either retreat or move in as he shifted in the galley like a wounded animal.

"Liar." Three escape routes presented themselves behind him but each carried substantial risk. Nothing had prepared him for being stuck inside with two attackers he didn't want to kill.

"We've have trouble with them in the past, that's how we know about them." Elbowing her way past Luna, Akiza presented herself as a human shield that was slowly forcing both women towards the door. Being stuck in the middle of nowhere was a more viable solution than sticking it in the truck with an unstable Obake. "They went their way, we went ours."

Eyes looking everywhere for a weapon or escape, Obake forced himself to consider the logic off their words. If either woman had been with Yliaster, there had been more than enough opportunities to take him hostage. No prying questions, no unusual contacts, no unexpected knife to the throat. Akiza had even gone as far as to avoid mentioning him to her friends at the SRC.

"Why didn't they come back?" Still retreating, one foot slipped on the took of the small staircase that led to the driver seats. "How did you get Yliaster to stay away from you?" That was a more dangerous question to answer.

"We showed them it was better for everyone if we all just got along." Now at opposite ends of the truck, Obake risked diverting his attentions enough to consider their words.

"How?" Not lowering the knife the entire way, Obake at least stopped wildly waving it about.

"They wanted us to work for them, we disagreed." Overriding Luna before she could tell the truth, Akiza put a blanket of believable lies across their previous encounters. "When they tried to press their point, we told a few friends in the police about it, gave the mayor some warning." Casually dropping titles like that would have further panicked the Englishman if he didn't already know how connected Akiza and her family were. "My father is a senator so he was able to put a few safety precautions into action." This last part was a complete fabrication but helped sell the rest of the lies. "Yliaster agreed not to meddle in our affairs if we left them alone." Finally lowering the knife the entire way, Obake let it dangle between his fingers as tears built behind the glasses.

"I'm sorry." Gently resting the blade back on the side, he knocked it into the sink as his left sleeve reached up to wipe away the building fluid. "I..." Having already given up his weapon and now slumping to the floor, Akiza was willing to label him a much lower risk than minutes earlier.

"It's alright." Crouching down where she was in the galley, a surge of pity was tempered by her anger and level head. "We understand." Watching him sniffle for several seconds, she tried to gauge his emotional control. "Why don't you tell us about it?" Stepping back from him, she let Obake slowly climb to his feet. In the confused state he was in, the most likely options were either violence or an attempt to make a connection with somebody. As they had proven the be non-hostile, she was reasonably certain that he would start talking to them.

"It happened about eight years ago." Dragging one of the packaged bottles from the sturdy cupboard, he poured a reserved amount of scotch into a glass. "Most members of the SRC are gifted in a particular field. Genetic splicing, mapping the constellations, being good with numbers." A professionally snide voice in her head asked Akiza what speciality involved living underground in utility tunnels. "My talent happens to lie with pattern recognition. I can see things most people miss or dismiss out of hand." Capping the bottle, he put it away again and gripped the glass between taut fingers. "It let me be a decent hacker for a while. Little stuff mostly. Peering through security cameras, cracking the neighbours internet." Swirling alcohol around the glass, he strained the limits of his sobriety.

"So how did you find Yliaster?" Tapping her foot anxiously, Akiza tried not to let her personal feelings about being the target of a hostage situation take over. Seeing Luna taken victim had failed to win Obake any sympathy either.

"There was this server farm I found." A slight hint of vapour washed past his face. "Back-tracking those cutesy websites people make for free in their spare time. I just wondered where they all ended up." It had seemed so innocent a crime at the time. No victims, minimal sentence and the possibility of a job opportunity if somebody liked his work. "There was a master overview for the farm. How many stacks there were, data inside, file amounts." Lowering the glass to the side, his left hand soothed the pain shooting through his right shoulder. "Something was weird about one of the towers. It showed a full storage capacity but one of the servers was down 'maintenance'. Only problem was, it shouldn't show a full load if one was down." Luna caught on quickly. If one server was down, it should have showed the lost storage and labelled it as such.

"What happened next?" Testing over, Obake simply poured the glass down the drain without taking a sip.

"Cracked past the firewall. Not bad but there was a flaw and I worked around it to find a digital dead drop." A dead drop was a technique where one party would leave an item behind for another to find. In this way, information could change hands without anybody being able to say who had sent it. "There were some encrypted files and I downloaded them to find out what was inside when I had free time." As it turned out, free time was one thing he no longer had after that day. "Secure networks are easily identifiable. Someone dropped a message on router were only a few people would notice it, demanding the files back immediately. A day after, the entire building went down. Fire, explosions, 'gas leak' to blame." Screams, dust and burst pipes still flaming. It was a nightmare from every disaster film. "I back-dated a train ticket and skipped across the country overnight. Got to a new city, tried to reach out to a cyber-syndicate for help. Gangs stormed the hotel in the night and robbed everyone blind. I survived by hiding behind an elevator with my computer." It had been a gruelling few hours. Hiding atop the elevator would have made it possible to be seen from above. Hiding in the chute would be like crouching in a killbox. Balancing on the struts in the dusty tunnel had cut his feet and covered him in grime but saved his life.

"And then?" With his mind receding back to the past, Obake had become increasingly lost to the present.

"Hmm?" Wrenching his mind from the memory, he closed his eyes and focused on the moment. "Scrubbed my identity, started running." Opening his eyes, he opted for an empty smile. "It's not that hard to erase an identity. Find somebody of about the right age, alter a few details of their passport photo so it doesn't get pinged as two people's by the computers. Delete everything, crash a few servers to hide the traces. Even if they recover some data, it's either false or regarded as corrupted. _Presto changeo_ , no more history." They sat in silence for a minute as each contemplated losing their home and identity to Yliaster. "After eighteen months, I managed to crack a file on Japanese operations. Doubtless outdated by then but there was one thing that caught my attention. An ongoing order not to engage with Professor Fudo."

Pieces were starting to fall into place for Akiza. How Yusei had started working with Yliaster to save the life of a victim. How Obake had been working at the SRC for six years. His story.

"So you went to Yusei." Suddenly with a dry mouth, she had a craving for the sort of drink Obake had poured away. "Asked him for help." Gaunt, emaciated, terrified of sunlight for fears of being seen by any prying cameras or watching eyes.

"One talk with Yliaster later and they agreed to spare my life. Yusei explained who they were: religious fanatics who believed Duel Monsters could be used in supernatural way. I moved into the tunnels and haven't left more than a dozen times since." Resting on the heels of his hands, Obake leaned back against the cupboards. "Six months planning to get over here undetected. Pick up a pair of soft targets ten minutes in. Lucky me." Ironic amusement slid between the words.

"You said this started eight years ago." Even with adrenaline still coursing through her system, Luna was still as gentle and wise as ever. "That would make you?"

Staring down at the wooden floor, Obake tried to count the months in his head. "Fourteen." A leap year had added an extra day but the weeks and months piled on regardless. "Fourteen when it all started."

Akiza tried not to think about the difference between the the young adults. From the way he carried himself and how he spoke, Obake had seemed at least as old as herself if not older still. Really, he was only a few months removed from Luna's age. While her family had been reuniting, he had been forced from his. About the time Luna started studying in earnest, Obake had been hiding in sewers and rifling through dumpsters for scraps. When she had been travelling across the world to do charity work, he had been figuratively chained underground.

"Funny thing nobody really thinks of about puberty." As with most conversations, his mind led them down a seemingly irrelevant tangent. "Between all the growing pains and hormones, nobody pays much attention to the dizzy spells. It's your brain rewiring, adjusting to new norms." More complicated than he was making out, the average teenage brain did actually undergo several key changes as the body morphed through the painful time. "Take away lighting, the brain assumes no light is the normal amount. Give it a few years." Reaching up, he deliberately straightened his glasses closer to his face. "Why, a person may have to take painkillers every time he went above ground. Even at night." Flashing back to the first time she had set foot in his maintenance tunnels, Akiza remembered their exchange as if it was happening all over again.

" _Can I borrow your goggles? It's unpleasant being down here." A grim chuckle came from beside her._

" _I'm not wearing goggles." A gentle left turn took them down a slightly warmer passage than the one they had just left. Heat was radiating from somewhere to her right and she wondered if it was from gas or water pipes._

" _Right, next you'll be telling me you can see in the dark."_ Obake had found it funny at the time because he almost _could_ see in the dark. A standard lamp bulb put out somewhere in the range of 450 – 500 lumens. Down in the tunnels, the walls were marked at regular intervals by tiny strips of material that put out roughly 20 lumens. Even in utter darkness, most people would fail to see them as their eyes adjusted over the course of hours and days. As somebody who had lived in such conditions for years, they were all the light Obake needed.

"Why don't you just leave?" Brave like her brother, Luna was more accepting of his aggressive move a few minutes before now she understood what he had been thinking. "Start your new life somewhere else?" It was a fair question. While Akiza had been thinking about the medical marvel standing before her, Luna had hit on the crux of the matter.

"Because the deal was that I remain confined to the SRC under Professor Fudo's supervision." Smiling wryly at her question, Obake stared at Luna from behind glasses that only kept the worst of the pain at bay. "Leaving the country probably doesn't count in my favour." His earlier sentiment had been right on the mark. Offering a lift to the woman who save his life and her friend could easily have been a kind gesture. But with their past with Yliaster and the shadowy organisation stretching everywhere through the tournament, it might as well have been a death sentence.

"Let's get going." Sensing the mood in the cabin start turning dire, Luna unanimously took control of the situation with the subtle control of a trained diplomat. "No good Duellist is going to be wasting time so we shouldn't either." Both pairs of surprised eyes turned to her.

"What? But I..." Ashamed of his actions, Obake couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"You thought we were going to kill you." Airily waving aside the problem, she tried to put the tormented man at ease. He had been hunted for years and lived in constant fear that Yliaster was just waiting to slip a blade between his ribs. It wasn't an excuse but it was a good reason to give him some slack. "There were times with your cooking that I felt the same way."

"I," Realising what she was going for, Obake felt his mouth struggle to tilt upwards at the corners. There had been few reasons to smile in the past eight years and the muscles were sorely out of practice. "Thank you." Regaining a slim fraction of the bland joy he had before, the troubled young man slid into the driver's seat and began searching for nearby signals.

"Are you sure about this?" Dragging her friend back down the corridor, Akiza was deeply troubled by the speed the situation was changing. "He did hold you hostage."

"Only because he thought we wanted to kill him." Huddling over by the table, Luna proved once again that she had grown substantially in the past few years. "We gave Sherry a chance and Bruno the benefit of the doubt. What's so different about Obake?" Truthfully, Akiza couldn't really find a reason to protest. She had heard his tale from both the source and Yusei and knew it was true. Eight years being hunted could do a lot to a person and even when he knew it could prove a potential risk, he had still invited the pair of them along to follow the Legend of Duellist Kingdom. But there was something in her gut that didn't really trust him.

"Fine." Giving in to stone-cold logic, she spared a glance to where Obake was tapping away at the computer screen. "But I don't trust him." She would definitely be making sure her sleeping pod was locked from now on.

"There's a signal coming from just over the border in Iowa." It was moving at a slow pace, indicating that something was wrong with a Duel Runner. "We can be there in about forty minutes." Buckling themselves in tight, the women could see the actual distance was ninety-six miles. To get there in forty meant he would be doing some serious speeding.

"Let's aim for one piece." Not quite ready to accept Obake at face-value again, Akiza decided to keep a careful eye on him from that moment forward.

"You know what they say," Settling into the biting point, he carefully pulled from the dirt track and started heading north on the road beyond. "We're not in Kansas anymore." Seeing an official sign flash on past, Akiza struggled to think of Obake as a dangerous person. Of all the places he could have stopped, they had spent the night in a remote dirt lane just so he could make a poor joke the next morning. If it hadn't been for Yliaster and the Signers, maybe he could have just been a normal person she wouldn't have looked at twice. If only.

* * *

"'No, let's go through Nebraska'." Jack was still bearing a large grudge over the events they had suffered in the Cornhusker State. "'Nebraska will be easy. Yliaster wont be in Nebraska.'"

"Hey!" Sick of the constant muttering in his ear, Crow felt the need to stick up for his decision. "At least admit I was right about that."

"Oh, you were right about that." In the distance behind them, smoke was starting to billow towards the sky. "Yliaster probably isn't Nebraska. Nobody with half a brain would be."

"So much blood." Possibly in shock, Leo was driving on auto-pilot in the middle of a triangle formed by the three brothers. It was the easiest way to keep him moving and they needed to keep moving right then.

It had all started innocently enough. Following their victory over Team Lightning, Leo had gone on to win another two Duels and competitors had figured out where they were. In order to gain a small reprieve, Crow had suggested going from Colorado through Nebraska and then into Missouri. It had been in a little town called Hastings just fifty miles from the border to Kansas where things had gone horribly wrong.

Hastings was a small community of barely twenty-thousand. Everybody had family going back generations and it had a friendly neighbourhood vibe everywhere. Crime was usually just teenagers with nothing better to do, nobody could start up a criminal organisation without the town uniting against them. Except for a few old feuds, it was an almost perfect town that mostly ignored the world outside.

"I can see Jack retiring to somewhere like this." Crow had quipped as they gently throttled down the main road. "Smiling faces, empty heads – just like him."

"If only Crow had the ability to come up with an original insult." Dramatically calm, Jack was deeply unsettled by the low-level humdrum of a small town. It was either cities or life on the road for him. This was sheer torture.

"It's really not that bad." Finally growing adjusted to being 'one of the guys', Leo was acting more like a casual member of the pack. "Nice houses, good people." Stopping at a red lit intersection, they watched slightly chubby man begin towing a pig across the road. Unused to seeing Duel Runners, the pig stopped directly head of them and started giving curious snorts and squinting at the machines.

"Maybe a bit weird." Shouting profuse apologies, the pin-striped shirt was stained with sweat as the pig was dragged another foot away from the Duel Runners. Honking horns sounded behind the group as Yusei insisted they wait for the pig to move further away before moving off. Less caring for the fate of the pig, a blue pick-up truck behind them pulled out with an over-revving engine and a horn that seemed glued down.

Time slowed to a crawl. Five heads turned to watch the truck as it sailed past the group, a waving fist and shouting face evident in the window as it failed to look ahead. Throwing himself as far as the overworked muscles in his legs could take, the pig-owner flew out of the way of the truck. Too slow to realise what was happening, the pig didn't even know what had hit it.

Events resumed a normal speed as the carnage splayed itself across the road. Tumbling from the truck, the horrified driver seemed coated in what was definitely not strawberry jam.

"You," What followed were all the words Martha had sternly taught her children not to say, followed by a few they didn't even know. "You've always had it out for me!"

"It was your fault." Coated by a once silver beard, the driver fixed an enraged glare on the former farmer. "You shouldn't have had that damned pig of yours in the road." Throwing the first punch didn't earn him any favours but the resulting retaliation may have saved the farmers life. Speeding through the red lights, a truck carrying several stacked cars took the corner too fast to stop and smashed into the truck, capsizing drunkenly as flames started to flicker.

"Gogogo!" Coming out as one hurried word, Jack and Crow quickly pulled off to their right with Yusei shaking Leo until he followed them. As they fled the growing carnage, an explosion could be heard mixing with the wail of approaching fire fighters.

It was only as they neared the far smaller town of Oregon to the north of Kansas City that they finally felt safe enough to stop and take stock. Most of the blood had landed on the truck but there were some things that people wished could just be scrubbed from their memories.

"Okay," In the sort of unspoken truce that had kept them friends since childhood, Crow offered a frank suggestion to his brother. "We're agreed – don't go back to Nebraska."

"That's fair." Not eager to be linked back to the incident, Jack mentally erased the entire state from the mental atlas in his head.

"Definitely." Functional again, Leo was still looking a few shades removed from a healthy colour.

"Never even crossed my mind." Fate has a cruel sense of irony. A beeping sounded from all their Runners as another Duellist's signal approached them from the north. Knowing somebody was chasing them was enough of a distraction to overcome the recent tragedy but they were still in no mood to have a Duel just then.

"We'll have to go east." Once again, Jack was right. St Joseph's was almost directly south, north was like running into the firing line and west would cost them too much time to lose a tail.

"Leo, Crow. Take the lead." Forcing Leo to think for the group would keep his mind from the terrifying ordeal. If the chasing signal caught up, Jack or Yusei would take the challenge for themselves.

"You do realise who this probably is?" Hanging back a short way, Jack opened a private channel to his brother.

"Yliaster." For a competition the rebel factions were intent on winning, they had yet to encounter a single challenge from the group.

"Think you're up for it?" Four days without sleep was usually manageable but Yusei hadn't had any caffeine or stimulants and had been riding almost the entire time. No matter what happened, he would have to sleep that night or risk a mortal accident.

"'Course." If it came down to it, Yusei would hold off the Shadow Duel long enough for his friends to escape.

"Good." Team 5D's had been travelling on Route 59 and having to dodge slow traffic the entire time. Whoever was chasing them was on the more direct Interstate 29 and gaining rapidly. There was a stretch up ahead where the two roads merged. If they could let the gap close slightly, maybe it would be possible to slip off and away before they were caught.

"We've just got to stay ahead of them for two minutes." Only a few miles separated the two parts of Route 59. A few trucks thundered past even as they watched and any of them could provide enough cover for the four Duellists to slip away and get a headstart. Crow edged out slightly, taking the lead from Leo as he waited for an upcoming gap in the traffic.

"Don't worry about us." Hearing the note of warning in Jack's tone, the Blackwing Duellist speared through the next gap with Leo just behind. "Ready for this?" A slight burst of traffic had kept them waiting long then normal and the pair of World Champions were on the verge of being caught.

"Try to keep up." Revving his engine, Yusei narrowly avoided the trailing edge of a truck as he shot into the road with Jack right beside him. For forty seconds, they zipped and weaved through cars and vans as the distance between them and the chaser remained consistent. After seventy, it looked like they might make it. Then a lorry driver neglected to check her mirrors and pulled across their lane before Yusei could see it coming. "Jack!" Dropping back, he let his brother dart across his path and make it to the exit ramp first.

"Hurry up!" Even without looking behind him, Yusei could tell he had lost too much speed and it was too late. A chill had settled into his spine as the whiny pitch of a poorly maintained engine sounded behind them.

"Look at what I caught." Chasing them down the ramp and onto the less-travelled road, a horrifying shade of purple coated both Duel Runner and rider as the sun began to sink towards the horizon. "If it isn't four Signers." Catching up with the rest of his team, Yusei failed to think of a tactic that could get them out of this predicament. If they constantly refused the challenge, Team 5D's would be eliminated from the competition and leave the way open for the rebel factions. If they Duelled and lost, the result would be even worse.

"It's not too late." Slipping gears in his exhaustion, Yusei fell slightly closer to the approaching jaws of the shark. "Nanashi will be merciful if you return to him."

"That fool?" Spitting from beneath her helmet, the chasing figure seemed uninterested in the deal. "A pretender, nothing more. He thought he could be clever, asking you for help."

"We offered it." Stretching the truth to breaking, the rest of his friends were still a short distance ahead as another townlet loomed in their immediate future.

"And then that girl your little feathered friend sent after us." A spasm of fear ran through her. "Oh, she's a nasty one."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." In a way, Crow didn't. Until they next met, he was operating under the assumption she was just looking for evidence that Yliaster was involved.

Their accounts were slightly vague as to what the time the conversation took place. It was at roughly the same time that Musume was headbutting another Agent with the skull of an unconscious colleague, screaming " _Tell me what you &*^%*¬~ know!_" but there was no way to be entirely certain.

"It doesn't matter." Dropping back once again, Yusei bit his tongue hard enough to draw blood. "I challenge you to a Duel."

"Yusei, no!" Smoke shot from the road as Jack's brakes seemed to hurtle him backwards.

"I accept." Closing the distance as she hunted him through the ironically named town of Savannah, the rogue Agent at least had the sense to wait until they were beyond the prying eyes of onlookers before starting their Duel.

(Turn 1)

Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:1 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

Agent: LP: 4000 SC:1 Hand:5 Field: None Graveyard: None

"As challenger, I'll take the first turn." Drawing the cards, Yusei was focused by pain and adrenaline but it would last more than a few hours. Either he would be dead or struggling to find somewhere safe to hide for the night. "I set one monster and two cards. Over to you." This was a much more dangerous game than it had been before. Back then, the Crimson Dragon had been on his side and he had known what to expect. Now, any card could potentially become real and tear him apart.

(Turn 2)

Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:2 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Agent: LP: 4000 SC:2 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

"I set one monster and set two cards." Seemingly mimicking Yusei's play, they could all feel the change in the atmosphere as the Duel led them towards a range of hills. Even so early on, she had already managed to play a Shadow Card.

(Turn 3)

Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:3 Hand:4 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Agent: LP: 4000 SC:3 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

"I flip Rescue Warrior (L4/1600 ATK/1700 DEF) in attack position." A firefighter monster carrying heavy cylinders on its back appeared on his side of the field. "I also summon Blue Expense Falcon (L2/800 ATK/800 DEF) in defence mode and then use it's ability to special summon Debris Dragon (L4/1000 ATK/2000 DEF) in defence mode." Even as the monster materialised, Yusei realised his mistake. It had been too long without sleep and he was recklessly trying to rush through this Duel. If he carried on in a normal fashion, the Agent would probably think it he had a greater plan. "Rescue Warrior attacks your face down card."

"Activate, Waboku." It was a Trap card that stopped any battle damage and saved monsters from being destroyed by battle. Those who used it generally carried more than one copy in their Deck. "As a result of your attack, you flip summoned Eria the Water Chamer (L3/500 ATK/1500 DEF)." A young girl clutching a staff appeared beside the purple Agent. Part of a group of 'Element Charmers' the various flip effects allowed the owner to gain control of a monster of the relevant element.

"Fine." Plucking another card from his hand, Yusei shored up his defence and ended his turn.

(Turn 4)

Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:4 Hand:1 Field: 3 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Agent: LP: 4000 SC:4 Hand:4 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Spell/Trap

"From my hand, I set one monster and activate Speed Spell – Creature Swap." Sacrificing three Speed Counters and her Eria, the Agent was able to gleefully watch as he sent across Rescue Warrior. "My monster now destroys your Blue Expense Falcon." Unable to watch his own monsters do battle, Yusei turned his head. "I set one card and end my turn."

(Turn 5)

Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:5 Hand:2 Field: 2 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster

Agent: LP: 4000 SC:2 Hand:2 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Spell/Trap

"I draw." What he drew could not have come at a better time. "Because I have two monsters in defence position," Thanks partly in kind to the Agent. "I can special summon Backup Warrior (L5/2100 ATK/0 DEF)." With guns surgically removed for both arms and carrying artillery on its back, this monster was the epitome of military might.

"Waboku." From the sidelines, various complaints arose from other members of Team 5D's. It wasn't an illegal move but it lacked sportship.

"Set one card." Maybe this was part of her strategy – to drive Yusei wild with impatience.

(Turn 6)

Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:4 Hand:0 Field: 3 Monster, 4 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster

Agent: LP: 4000 SC:3 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Spell/Trap

"Thanks to you, I can really get started. I summon the Tuner monster, X-Saber Palomuro (L1/200 ATK/300 DEF)." A reptile with an ornate staff, the creature tested the air as they began climbing a hill. "But don't get too friendly because I'm tuning my Palomuro with your Rescue Warrior to form the powerful, the formidable,"

"Why is it we can never get a fluffy bunny instead?" Diverting around a few loose rocks, Crow's lights zagged through the growing twilight.

"Ally of Justice Catastor(L5/2200 ATK/1200 DEF)." One of the gleaming metal monsters Yliaster seemed to love using so much, a quadrupedal creature crawled onto her field. "Although I have to attack, there's no need to worry. Whenever Catastor battle a non-Dark creature, it's instantly destroyed." Seeing the front two claws glow, Yusei lunged for his trap card.

"I activate Return Marker!" Whenever a monster would be destroyed by a card effect, Return Marker saved that monster and inflicted their original ATK to the opponent. And as Catastor had declared an attack, it couldn't do so again.

(Turn 7)

Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:7 Hand:1 Field: 3 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap

Agent: LP: 1900 SC:4 Hand:2 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Spell/Trap

What was the problem? Catastor would destroy any non-Dark creature that came near it. What was the solution? "It looks like I owe you the thanks this time." Laying the card he had just drawn, Yusei seemed ready to take on the world. "I summon Mach Synchron (L1/0 ATK/0 DEF)!" A gleaming jet monster hovered anxiously by his side. "But don't get too friendly because I'm tuning my Level 1 Mach Synchron with the Level 4 Debris Dragon and Level 3 Eria." It didn't take a genius to see what was coming.

"Yeah, Yusei!" Leo whooped and circled once around the Duel in his excitement.

"It's been too long old friend. Let's show them what we're made of." The green rings peeled back and it was as if a pillar of light connected them to the the heavens. "Let's ride together again, Stardust Dragon!" Letting loose a shattering roar, his prime monster graced the skies again for the first time in years.

"Born from shadows, cast from the darkness itself," Flipping up her Trap card, the Agent proved she had both skill and preparation on her side. "Behold my Shadow Card, Tuner's Scheme." A sinister figure with a top hat and monocle appeared with a sneer, tapping his silver walking can twice before point it at Stardust Dragon. "As soon as you Synchro summon a monster, Tuner's Scheme can make it all my very real own." With dark energy coursing through it, the effects of Tuner's Scheme would extend beyond mere card text. From what she was hinting at, the Signer Dragon was now a very real threat as it was dragged, screaming, to her side of the field.

(Turn 8)

Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:4 Hand:0 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 5 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap

Agent: LP: 1900 SC:5 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Spell/Trap

There wasn't any point in adding monsters but she did it anyway, laying another face-down Charmer just ready to go off if he dared attack.

"How must it feel, to be attacked by your own monster?" Throwing back a shapely arm, there was true malice in her voice. "Stardust Dragon, attack!" Bound by the rules of the Duel, the dragon seemed trying to restrain the pillar of light that burst from its jaws to strike at Yusei.

She hadn't been lying. Every fibre of his being could feel the heat and energy radiating from the pillar as Yusei dodged and weaved across the road. Chunks of tarmac and gravelled pelted him from all sides as the team struggled to avoid getting caught in the beam. "What's wrong?" Safe from the damage, she laughed manically. "Don't be afraid of the danger!"

"I activate Trust Chain." It was not the plan he had intended for the Trap. Under normal circumstances, it would boost a monster's ATK by the combined amount of every Synchro monster they controlled. With no Synchro monster, Yusei used its other ability to end the Battle phase early. But he was out of evasive moves and the Agent knew it. On her next turn, she could inflict serious damage. On the turn after that, she could easily win. Unless he could bring about a miracle.

(Turn 9)

Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:9 Hand:1 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 5 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

Agent: LP: 1900 SC:6 Hand:2 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Spell/Trap

"I activate Speed Spell – Angel Baton!" It was literal shot in the dark. If he didn't draw a card that could turn it all around, Stardust Dragon could be forced to destroy him on the next turn. First came a Trap that would prove useful if she couldn't already prevent it. As for the other...

"Junk Meister?" It wasn't a card that Yusei had put in his deck. As far as he was aware, it didn't even exist. Focussing his tremendous will, the card seemed to swim in his vision before clearing gain. "Junk Collecter." That was much better. A Level 5 Monster, it had 2200 DEF and might be enough to take a blow from the Agent's own Synchro monster. But that would be a foolish waste.

"What's it going to be, Fudo." Still chasing the pack, the Agent was taking every care on the roads and in the Duel. Her antics weren't for show but strategy. She was trying to throw him off his game and the momentary confusion had almost caused his defeat.

"I tribute summon Junk Collector." Sliding the Speed Spell into the discarded pile of cards, Yusei was wide awake as the mechanical bandit whirled a mallet/clamp merged weapon in both hands. "I now activate its effect." Rummaging through the bag on its back, the creature pulled a long wooden box almost as itself. "By removing it and one Trap card in my graveyard from play, I can activate the effect of that Trap." Opening the wooden box, Junk Collector faded from the field as another card was left in it's place.

"Hah! I've seen all the traps you've played so far." Unworried by the futile gambit, the Agent took a corner at dangerous speeds to keep up with the group as they began a downhill descent.

"True, but I didn't play this one." Freezing, she remembered the card he had just sacrificed. "I activate Synchro Prominence!" Flying high above the Duel, Stardust looked down on the suddenly terrified Duellist and growled. "For every Synchro Monster on the field, you lose 1000 Life Points." Drawing in energy through it's maw, the Signer Dragon seemed outraged at being turned against its partner. "Don't forget." Unleashing the build up of energy at its jailor, Stardust completely obliterated any trace she had even been chasing them to begin with. "You're the one who wasn't afraid of danger."

(Game Over)

Winner: Yusei Fudo

* * *

"Thanks, old friend." High up above, Stardust gave a mournful howl and slowly dissipated in a sprinkling of photons.

"We should keep moving." Seeing the fatigue Yusei was under, Crow took charge.

"Give the guy a minute." With the world spinning in reverse, Jack was the one calling for calm. "He's been through a lot."

"Unless you want to explain what happened to the road," Looking behind himself, Yusei realised that the final attack had not simply erased the Agent but also destroyed a large swath of tarmac in the process. "Or how about the dust cloud that will be here any minute?"

On the far horizon, dust was being picked up in the breeze and forming a dense cloud. "If we don't get under cover soon then we'll be in for an unpleasant time." When slightly reaffirmed that Crow wouldn't lunge for Jack, Yusei slowly pulled off with exhaustion swiftly returning to his very bones. Unable to go at any speeds in face of the very real possibility that he fall off, Yusei followed at a slow pace as they moved further down the hill towards the storm. Once at the bottom of the curving road, he was thankful to be able to simply pitch over and lie on the floor.

"Get the sleeping bags out." Knowing he should really be giving out some instructions, Yusei could only listen in a daze as the other three worked together in rough harmony.

"You get the sleeping bags out." Kneeling down beside his brother, Jack carefully pulled him free from the machine. "That was a stupid thing to do." Regaining enough strength to breathe normally, Yusei sucked in the chill air as if his life depended on it.

"It was the best choice." Feeling the aches in every part of his body, Yusei mustered a grim face. "Trust me, I'm a genius." Something flew through the air and back up the sheer hill they had just come down from. Closing his eyes, Yusei tried to doubt the information they had given him. "With that in mind, tell me the sleeping bags didn't just get blown away."

"My bad." Unused to the compartment built into Jack's Runner, Crow had inadvertently pulled the bags with more strength than was necessary and sent them swirling away into the growing twilight.

"It's okay." Bursting into the centre of attention, Leo actually had an old-fashioned paper map in his hands. "Look," One finger traced a path along the paper. "There's a bank of hills just around the next bend. If we can get there, the dust will mostly blow over us." Yusei was somewhat amazed to admit that his young friend was right. It had not passed his notice that Leo had aged over the years but he still thought of him as the energetic young boy who had pulled him off the street long ago. A sudden gust of wind had the map tugged almost out of his grasp.

"What do we do for cover?" Once again, the responsibility fell to Leo to grab Jack by the lapels and shake some sense into him.

"We'll circle the Runners and cover ourselves with our jackets." It appeared that Yusei wasn't the only one to still be thinking of Leo as he once was. "But we'll have to push our Runners. The dust cloud will make it dangerous to drive." It was true. The dust was definitely picking up and would easily find a way past helmets and into eyes. Given a few more minutes and all sight would be obscured. In fact, that was exactly what happened. Only a brief handful of moments passed before the dust storm began to engulf them and the group was forced to huddle closer together just to stay in one group.

"I don't suppose that you've got some super-science device that can do something about this wind?" Crow had started a trend of wrapping his vest tightly about his neck to keep the dust out. Even with the vest and lights on his Runner, the surface of the road was difficult to see at best.

"Once." Although the fastest, Yusei also had one of the heaviest Runners and fatigue was deep in his bones by now. "Just two problems. It took several hours and we lost contact within a week." Laughter sounded over the headsets. Leo might be getting ahead in leadership but Crow had the edge in creativity after deciding to link their helmets together to help stay in one group. "How much longer do we have to walk?" Jokes at his expense aside, the pack leader had already lost feeling in his back at being crouched over.

"We're about halfway there." Although the group were talking over their headsets, Leo instinctively edged closer to the trio ahead of him. "The map said that we had about four miles to walk. Four miles is just over twenty-one thousand feet. We're at around nine thousand, four hundred and sixty-two... sixty-three... sixty-four." With the last few muttered words, each mind began their own unwilling count for the next twelve thousand steps. Over the course of the rest of the harrowing walk through the unexpected dust storm. Jack meandered slightly and ended up somewhere near forty thousand after a wrong turn at twelve thousand and four hundred. Crow accidentally ended up counting his heartbeats and flew far off count. Bored with mediocre counting, Yusei started examining the dust cloud for patterns of behaviour and replaced the normal method of counting for complex equations. It took far too long to reach their destination for the evening.

"This?" What little room remained between two craggy rocks and the hill that the group had been spent the past few hours walking around was filled with bushes. Thorny bushes. Inch-long thorns thorny bushes. "This is where we're meant to sleep?" Accommodations might have been less favourable in recent years than they had been under Goodwin's thumb but Jack was still used to a certain level of comfort. Cramming himself between a rock and a hard place on a bed of thorns was not what he had envisioned.

"We've slept in worse." Unwelcome looks greeted Crow's words. Three of the four might have slept in worse but they didn't usually like to recall it. Despite being slightly more out of the wind, it felt like even more dust was blowing down their backs. Even with all the added inconvenience, Yusei was inches from admitting defeat and following the others to their shelter on the other side of the rocks when he felt a gentle tug on his Runner. Turning on the spot, he had the slightest idea that a person was there before they were gone again. Another passing apparition darted past from the left and vanished into the swirling motes.

"Did anyone else see that?" The others looked up from attempting to transform their jackets into some form of cover.

"See what?" Another dark flash streaked past the group and landed atop the rocks they were sheltered against.

"That!" Yusei was the only one to see a dark finger point further down the road before vanishing in a swirl of air and sand.

"Maybe you should sit down." Crow was lucky enough to be busy wrapping an arm around his friend to notice the outline straddling his Runner before it slipped away.

"I think that we should keep going." One hand tightened the vest crammed around his throat as he began walking back down the road again. "Just a hunch." The others immediately gathered up their belongings and made to move again. If Yusei had the slightest idea to continue on, they would continue. So onwards they trudged, through the blistering winds and continuing down the constantly disappearing road.

Almost an hour trudged past with the group slowly falling into a waking sleep with opens eyes and closed minds. Sometimes, Yusei would capture glimpses of the same black figure pointing them down the road. At one point, the figure was marching alongside them, directly between the regularly rotating trio behind Yusei without their noticing.

For a brief moment in the gloom, Yusei's thoughts turned to those of Z-One. From what little they had learned, Z-One had once led a group of people through the Meklord invasion. It might be far removed from a global catastrophe but Yusei could feel a fleeting kinship with the Z-One who had worked to save humanity before the end.

"What's that?" Lost in his thoughts, Yusei hadn't even noticed the square dimensions of a caravan up ahead. It appeared mostly solid with a heavy door set in the side.

"I know that design." Carefully propping his Runner against the rear of the truck, Yusei lead the hurried charge towards the door and thumped on the door several times. "Hello? Hello!" The sound of hurried talking preceded the door opening and firm hands dragging the group inside.

"Keep it down!" Odds grappled with fate for several tense seconds. Despite prior experience, odds always forget that fate keeps knives up both sleeves and likes to cheat. So fate once more reared it's head and deposited Jack, Crow, Leo and Yusei directly onto the floor in front of Akiza and Luna. "How did you find us?" Crow reached back and closed the door before more dust could swirl in.

"I'll tell you later." Right now, Yusei could happily fall asleep on the floor and leave all questions for tomorrow. "I don't suppose that there's any way to have a shower?" Luna gave her usual gentle smile and directed her brother to the closet at the back of the hallway.

"Where did you pull this one from?" With the shower temporarily out of business, the three remaining piles of dirt were propped against the stairs, walls and cupboards. Yusei, being the martyr, took the uncomfortable stairs as best he could. "It should still be under review. Not to mention way above your clearance level." Akiza folded her legs beneath her to get closer to her friends level as Luna went about finding some leftover food for the travellers.

"Obake pulled it all together. There are food, blankets and maps for the Duelists." Holding one finger to her lips, Akiza pointed towards the slumbering pile just visible in the cockpit. Following the tense day, Obake had called an unusually early night and instantly hidden himself beneath the blanket. Akiza and Luna had taken shelter in Akiza's sleeping pod, leaving the door open a crack just in case there was trouble.

"Obake?" Catching the look Akiza was giving him, Yusei held his tongue as Jack practically dove for the shower. Leo was rocking a white bathrobe that Luna had passed him from one of the cabins and carrying his dirty linen under one arm.

"Take the top bunk." Luna patted the pod above her own and deposited the laundry into a tiny washing machine hidden in a cupboard beside the sink. "We can wash all your clothes once you've had a shower." For all this tough exterior, the indomitable face of Crow almost broke down and wept after hearing such a simple sentence. The quartet on the floor fell to a trio as Luna clambered into her bunk and then a duo when Jack finished his lengthy shower in order to let Crow finally feel running water once more.

"What is Obake doing here?" Akiza briefly filled in everything that had happened, including her rather sketchy explanation of their association with Yliaster.

"You did the right thing." Unable to think straight, Yusei was trusting that she had rather than actually knowing it himself. "I'll speak with him in the morning. What time will he be awake?"

"He usually stays up late to plan out the likely route for the next day." Yusei slowly pulled himself up the stairs to lean against the side of the bench around the table as Crow stumbled from the shower and right into the sole remaining bunk on the top shelf. "Then he gets up early and does the same thing. I don't think I've seen him actually sleep since we set off." Yusei bit his cheek slightly to stay awake.

"Whenever you wake up, can you do the same for me?" With the small cerebral inhibitor in his pocket to prevent the seizures, he was looking forward to a warm shower followed by a long sleep.

As the warm water trickled over him, Yusei's mind entered a mild hallucinatory state. Visions of countless Dark Duels, impressions of a strange hidden figure facing off against Nanashi. Strange Duel Monster cards that were familiar and strange one minute before becoming strange yet familiar. Then a shadow that danced through the storm and guided him to a comfortable berth where he was welcome to spend the night.

 _ **Fingers, sore. Eyes, bleeding. Say it with me now: 11,400+ words!**_

 _ **Okay, so I should probably have split this chapter into two but by the time I have a final word count, the edits were finished and I lacked the necessary energy.**_

 _ **As always, leave a review if you have anything to say and avoid my mistake of slipping in an extra few thousand words.**_


	7. Thursday

When dawn rolled back around, the dry storm had coated the landscape in dirty shades of yellow, brown and orange. A gentle breeze was already starting to sweep away the top layer but thick coatings lingered on smooth surfaces. From a distance, the huddled collection of Duel Runners beside the truck looked like a collection of misshapen rocks beside a fallen obelisk.

With soft white clouds obscuring the morning sun, Obake carefully examined the pills sitting in the palm of his hand. For the last few years, he had been forced to live in the splendid confines of the New Domino Scientific Research Centre. Working in the utility tunnels hadn't been the easiest job around but it was productive and allowed him long stretches of completely avoiding people. Obake had attempted to integrate with the main hub of personnel advancing their fields at the SRC but couldn't shake the paranoid sensation that any one of them could be reporting his every move back to Yliaster. Coupled with a painful aversion to light, he had simply retreated beneath the ground and literally buried himself into his work.

A quiet sound disturbed his musings as Luna emerged from her pod at the far rear of the truck. "Hey," Perching on the edge of one side the lengthy booth, she refrained from fully committing to sitting opposite him. Pity could only take so much edge of being taken hostage.

"Hello." Eyes remaining hidden behind his glasses, Obake could see the lines under her eyes where Luna had slept poorly.

"I looked up nitric oxide." With the sum total of human knowledge at their fingertips, any internet sleuth could quickly become an expert in any field overnight.

"Did you now?" Placing one pill at a time into his mouth, Obake dryly forced them down his throat. "I suppose you realised why I have to take it."

"Most people use it as a supplement." According to rumour, it was a super-vitamin that cured everything from erectile dysfunction to some forms of cancer.

"Most people produce all they need from a good day in the sun." Following a slight accident by one of the astronomy teams – involving an explosion, a prototype telescope design and far too much red tape – one of the SRC rooftops had been uninhabited and unobserved for a few days. After just an hour in the sun, Obake could literally feel his skin starting to burn. For the next week, it would blister and peel in increasingly painful waves. "I am sorry," Slipping the sugar pill between his molars, the Englishman crushed it slowly. "About yesterday." Society raised children on the simple belief that an apology can overcome any wrong. Clearly, most of the parents had never had a knife on their throat.

"I understand why you reacted that way." She didn't really though. There was still a piece of the puzzle Obake hadn't shown her and had no plans to show her. "But it's going to take a lot more coffee before you earn my forgiveness."

"Well then," Sliding out from behind the table, Obake hunted down an immobile kettle. "I should probably get started on breakfast." Drawing some water and leaving it to boil, he opened the voluminous fridge to find something to eat. "I know it might sound mad," Balancing a pot of crab in one hand, he piled various vegetables on his arm. "But we should probably wait here for a bit. There's something I think you'll be surprised to see."

"Really?" Suddenly remembering the rush of exhausted bodies from the night before, Luna tried to think of a way to explain the four extra passengers to Obake.

"It won't make up for my behaviour yesterday." Piling the ingredients across the worktop, a rolling jar almost fell to the floor before it was snagged by a quick hip pressing against the counter. "But I thought it might ease the tension slightly." As he began slicing cold potatoes into a pan, the lower-centre pod behind him opened and Jack emerged into the light of day, escalating Luna's own tension exponentially.

"I can explain!" Grunting non-communicationally at her outburst, Jack stalked his way into the small bathroom and closed the door behind him.

"That sleeping pill must really be something." Following a cowards escape plan perfectly, Obake had been seen the night before taking a pill from the medicine box before going to sleep. It appeared to

"What do you mean?" Adding in some greenery on the verge of going bad, he dribbled a small amount of oil into the pan and set it on a low heat.

"This is all just a dream caused by stress and drawing on my plans for the day." Content with his explanation and the idea everything was fictional, the delusional cook continued to sprinkle and prod ingredients. "In an area the size of a continent, the odds of two people crossing paths by accident are staggeringly low. It makes more sense that I'm still dreaming."

"Is that food?" With abilities beyond mortal understanding, Crow somehow managed to detect the sweet aroma of cooking from inside his hermetically sealed pod and poked his head out. "I can smell food." There are some things that an imagination simply cannot dream up and the hungry look in his eyes was one.

"Er, yes." Seeming to come back to reality, Obake switched to autopilot as his hands continued to cook and eyes began to widen. "Bubble and squeak. Traditional English." Mind overloading slightly, he turned to see Leo hammering on the door to the bathroom as Jack began causing a backlog. Even his most disturbed nightmares didn't involve such bizarre circumstances.

"Never heard of it." Sliding from his berth, the ginger Duellist was wrapped in that loose dressing gown he had found in the storage container beneath the mattress. "What's in it? Where did you get the beds? Is there any soda?" Opening and shutting cupboards until he found plates, the energetic flow of conversation was starting to unnerve Obake.

"Various vegetables. Came with the truck. None left." Grabbing a jar of preserve, Obake tried the final defence that a sleeping mind rarely detailed a label. Staring back at him in corporate blandness, a list of ingredients dispelled the last shred of hope he had left that this was all some drug-induced horror. "Umm, Luna?" Reaching for his last point of sanity, he didn't see Akiza sneaking behind him towards Yusei's bunk. Sliding inside, she carefully removed the cerebral inhibitor from his forehead before anybody else could uncover his condition.

"They also came with the truck?" Force into waking by a cruel and uncaring physician – or simply woken up when he would have preferred a few more minutes silence – Yusei was just in time to overhear the hopeless excuse.

"Is there any coffee?" Finally emerging from the bathroom, Jack wondered if it was possible for a strong enough odour to actually curl paint. "I need coffee."

"Found the coffee!" Rifling through cupboards, the brothers caused mess equal to a small tornado hitting the truck. Yusei could tell, having actually seen the footage.

"What was your surprise?" Having to shout over a brewing argument, Luna tried to divert attention away from the ongoing civil war.

"There were sightings," Flashing back to The Pig Incident, Jack and Crow instantly redoubled their fighting in an attempt to bury the memories. "Of your friends yesterday!" Already struggling to be heard over the noise with his weak voice, Obake began distracted them with a plate of cooked vegetables each.

"What is this?!" About to launch into some tirade about vegetables and 'proper food', Jack was stopped before he could begin as Obake wedged a cup of coffee powder in his spare hand and topped it off with boiling water from the kettle, stirring it erratically before turning back to the gently smoking pan.

"Nice truck." Swallowing the still steaming vegetables, Crow slid himself into the booth opposite Luna.

"It is, isn't it?" Having quietly observed the commotion from behind, Yusei finally spoke up as Obake finished dividing up the piles of breakfast on plates.

"Professor Fudo." Freezing in place, various fall-back plans that involved false identities and hidden money floated across Obake's mind. "What a lovely surprise!" Slowly turning around, he eked out every possible second to think of something, anything, that could get him out of this predicament. Various neurons permanently fizzled out as they failed to produce any results.

"You know what it really reminds me of?" Graciously accepting one of the plates, Yusei put on his stern face. "It looks just like the new Grayston prototype they just finished testing at a facility certain people don't have clearance to know about." That criteria included just about everybody within a two-hundred-mile radius. Yusei himself was only allowed to know for diplomatic reasons and because the leader of said facility was a professional admirer. "But it couldn't be, because the Grayston is highly restricted and there's no legal way you could have gained permission to use it."

"It's funny you mention that." Not ones to miss out on drama, Jack and Crow craned their necks around as their brother passively made a show of enjoying his breakfast. "There was a computer crash at the SRC recently." Remembering the time Abi had sucked up all available processing power to help advance Akiza's research, the two scientists remained carefully quiet. "Afterwards, I set up a server for a _visiting research team_." A slight stress on the vague phrase indicated Yusei would know which one Obake was talking about. "They asked if there was anything they could do and I mentioned my upcoming vacation."

"Which I expect to hear more about," Keeping both eyes focussed on Yusei, Obake carefully made a mental note to ask Yliaster for a quick death instead. "Just as soon as we get back to New Domino."

"Might I ask how you found us?" Passing a plate to Akiza, Obake began rummaging through cupboards for various condiments. Under other circumstances, being discovered in the middle of nowhere would have been terrifying but he hadn't accounted for the distracting presence of Jack and Crow. "The ... makers didn't spend a small fortune making this truck all but physically invisible for nothing." Per international laws that most people didn't even know existed, all countries had unanimously agreed not to pursue certain projects such as teleportation, miniaturisation or human cloaking technology. Otherwise, a certain American agency – which could disavow all knowledge of the vehicle – had built it to contain every gadget and gizmo they could think of.

"That's classified." With a full night's induced coma and a plate of warm food making headway towards his belly, Yusei was back on the top of his game and ready to tussle with the best. "Do you think you can keep up with us if we decided to stay together?" After their first conclusive encounter with a Yliaster Agent, he wasn't eager to lose track of his friends so quickly.

For his part, Obake was sidelined by the question. He hadn't originally planned on an actual conversation, especially on the morally/legally grey area of his use of the truck. Being put on a leash was a bad sign of upcoming punishment. "There are several other competitors in the area I was hoping to attend to." With a depleting hold and finish line in sight, Obake was keen to shift as much of his remaining resources as was possible. "We can try and stick close. The truck has a Deacon engine and Monroe suspension. We won't be more than an hour away."

Hearing the sort of equipment the van had installed, Yusei almost choked. Deacon-class designs had once been used in the American space program and the most worrying thing about Monroe designs was the way they tended to outlast any other component. After a while, the designers had started work on classified projects that only got more and more sophisticated and secure. With such levels of technology in it, the truck was a veritable goldmine. If the owners heard Yusei had his hands on their invention, heads could have rolled.

"Okay. Just try and stay close." Putting his plate to one side, Yusei did a quick headcount and came up one person short. "Wait, where's Leo?"

Slipping out of the small bathroom, all eyes watched the futile attempt at surreptitiousness fail dramatically. "Do _not_ go in there." Breathing deeply in the fresh air, four days without a real toiled had unwound all at once.

"Please tell me you opened a window." With a cloying stench irrevocably staining the robe Leo was wearing, Crow could almost see the odour lines rising off him.

"There's a window?" As the rest of the group began arguing and shouting, Obake thanked whatever particular force had guided his life that he had showered early.

"Wow!" Spotting the comfortable cockpit area, Leo sprinted the short length of the truck to fawn over the controls. "Is there where you drive it?" Growing more concerned with the constant fiddling of switches, Obake sidled closer to the inquisitive young man as Crow bravely took one for the team and braved the stench of the bathroom to open a window and spray some air freshener. "Cool, can you play games on this?" Tapping away at the computer screen, Leo was quickly browsing maps of America, Legend of Duellist Kingdom statistics and even a vast array of external cameras.

"Is he always like this?" Pushing the fried vegetables around her plate, Luna tried to tune out the overwhelming enthusiasm of her brother as Akiza watched Obake edge closer.

"Awesome!" Bouncing in his seat, the group watched Leo test the steering wheel and jiggle the gearstick until the top lifted up to reveal a hidden button.

"No!" Diving for the control, Obake cupped his hands over the red lump before it could be pressed.

"Is that?" Nobody really needed to hear the end of the sentence to imply the words 'self-destruct button'.

"Only if I didn't rewire it properly." Carefully capping the button again, a polite but firm grip on Leo's shoulders escorted him away from their collective untimely demise. "A leftover from the previous design." A couple of shotguns had also been found by the reconstruction crew alongside several pounds of explosive. There had been so many hidden compartments in the original truck it was a wonder that anything had been found.

Forced into the booth, the young man edged away from the uncomfortable superior air Luna was projecting. "Don't say anything." She didn't but that snobbish air seemed to grow thicker. As Yusei berated his subordinate for possibly driving around with a probably live explosive device somewhere on board the vehicle carrying his friends, the other three Duellists slowly cycled through the bathroom to take a shower and make use of the other facilities. It was a long lecture.

* * *

"We'll head towards Kentucky." The next state across, it was a straight shot towards the finish line and the most obvious route to take. Unless Yliaster was thinking in the paradoxical style of 'the most obvious is too obvious, they won't do it' – which was not entirely outside the realm of possibility – they would hopefully be able to eliminate a few Agents and rack up the final few points they needed at the same time.

"Imagine a scribble on the map." Sticking to the shade to avoid unwelcome sunburn, Obake was throwing out unhelpful information as the rest of them gave more heartfelt farewells. "There's no telling exactly where the Duellists will be but that's where we're going."

"Try not to get into trouble." In fairness, Obake had survived two years with what he could immediately get his hand on. With the temporarily stolen truck and two sane minds keeping him under control, the pale man might not attract as much attention this time.

"Professor Fudo, I would never." Placing a hand on his heart, the group instantly tuned out the practised lies.

"Take care of Leo for me." Reaching up to hug Jack, Luna whispered the command with a slight tightening of her arms.

"It's okay." Scowling less – his particular version of a beaming smile – Jack continued to stare down the road with palpable impatience. "I'll throw Crow at them." Somewhere else in the world, a minor prophet probably sat up in confusion and realised their big moment had just slipped by.

"Take care of the idiots." Wrapping her knuckles on Yusei's helmet, Akiza tried to not be worried. Yliaster was producing Shadow Cards – and it was anybody's guess how – but Team 5D's was completely powerless in response.

"Don't we get a tearful farewell?" Leaning on his handlebars, Leo was moping at Crow with the trained emotional state of a young adult.

"If there's one thing a real lady knows," Adjusting his gloves, Crow was as anxious to leave as Jack. "It's how to completely ignore your existence."

"Try heading for Columbia." Appearing like a pale ghoul (Crow unable not to think 'vampire' after Luna's description of a pale man she had never seen sleep who avoided sunlight), Obake seemed incapable of an actual emotion as his face remained perfectly still. "Most Duellists will skirt the major cities and congregate on the smaller ones." It was true, Team 5D's was guilty of the same tactic. Going through a large city was like begging to be swamped by fans and stuck in traffic. In smaller ones, they could breeze through and occasionally encounter an opponent.

"Already got it covered, thanks." It wasn't that Crow disliked the young man but he didn't _like_ him either. "You guys ready yet?" Craning his neck around, Crow received a welcome thumbs up. "You might want to step back." Turning to warn Obake about the departing Runners, Crow was unsettled to see him leaning against the truck again. "Man, that guy creeps me out." Edging out into the road, he tried not to focus on the unblinking gaze that even the sunglasses couldn't completely mask.

"See you later." Giving his shoulder one last squeeze, Akiza watched her old friends ride off to another day of Duelling and danger. Part of her wanted to go with them and fight the good fight. Another part was just as happy putting it all behind her and getting on with helping others.

"Team Black Baron was just spotted in Warsaw." Plugged into all kinds of social media, Luna's ability to keep track of different trends was serving her equally well in hunting down Legend of Duellist Kingdom participants.

"Let me guess. A small town somewhere near here?" Colonial settlers had been lazy and unoriginal naming their settlements. Europeans could land on the west coast and easily find a dozen familiar names before dinner.

"And Team Mantis has been sticking to the south roads." Following her older friend back into the truck, she didn't even notice Obake was already in his seat. "They should probably converge around Lebanon. We can catch the Duel if we hurry." They were both more open to accepting the speeds that the truck could go now that Yusei had explained it basically had a rocket booster hidden beneath the bonnet.

Calmly listening to the various directions and decisions the women seemed to have taken over entirely, Obake carefully led the truck in the opposite direction to the four Duellists. Even if they headed for each other at respective top speeds, it would be at least an hour before they were able to make contact. Whatever challenges they would face that day, it would be on their own.

Drifting slightly south as they headed mostly west, the group encountered little traffic on the backroads and continued heading towards the finish line with barely a word. Trying to hold a conversation was difficult in the monotony of the drive. Even eight years of separate history wasn't enough to fill the silence after three days of oversharing. As they entered another undefinable stretch of road between control of towns and cities, the group finally found something to talk or, rather, complain about.

"Is it me," Clenching as they rode over a series of potholes and bumps in the road, Jack broke the monotonous silences of driving past endless fields. "Or is this entire country just one big series of small towns?" More accustomed to large cities, the relaxing atmosphere had faded after thirty seconds and was starting to drive his already low patience into reverse.

"It's more empty land." Despondent with no exciting activity to keep his mind active, Leo was quick to quip. "Just nothing, nothing, more nothing. Wait, what's that over there?" With the collective poor joke sense that most men shared, the three brother's didn't even need to follow his pointing arm. "It's more nothing."

"Leo's easier to handle when he hasn't slept." Running on only a half a metaphorical tank, Leo had been as amendable as Crow when offered vast sums of money.

"Good news!" Trying to brighten the mood – and seriously creeping out everybody as a result – Jack nodded at his screen. "We might have company." A tiny signal was just about flickering into range down south as they blasted through the appropriately named Kingdom City. "Who handles them if it's Yliaster?"

"I'll take them on." Still playing the part of the martyr, Yusei was still willing to throw himself onto a literal sword in order to save his friends from the mere risk. "What odds are we taking on it being Yliaster?" As the hisses of poor taste sounded from all around, Yusei tapped out the digits of pi on his handles with the corresponding fingers.

"Yusei, Yliaster want to kill you and banish your soul to a place of endless pain and torture." Jack actually sounded angry enough to take on the entire organisation if they were there at the time. "We're not placing bets." Driving past another two small towns that seemed impractically close together, they let the signal creep slightly closer as St Louis loomed in the distance.

"So, seven to five on?" Catching the withering gaze of his brother, Yusei decided to let the issue go as they pulled into a service road just outside Warrenton. Ten minutes later, they were joined by their chasers, pulling to a halt in a large cloud of dust and skidding tires.

There were only three of them in the team. At some point in the past, it had been four but nobody quite knew what had happened to the lost member. Their Runners were a stark contrast to most machines seen on the road, dented and rusty from lack of care and anything but essential maintenance. Each one was driven by a muscle-bound man wearing equally worn jackets and dented helmets. Arms had been left bare to the elements and were coated with numerous scars of all shapes and sizes. Dozens of Duelling Teams made their names for any number of reasons but the ones attached to the grinning Duellists were all the wrong ones.

"Team Wrecker." Nodding familiarly, Yusei edged his Runner forward into the middle of the road.

"Hear that?" A nasty tinge entered the smile of the coasting leader as he stopped with his front wheel just a few inches from Yusei's "Yusei Fudo knows who we are." Named Sean, Wayne and Craig, the three Americans were an oddity on the circuit. Most Duellists of their nationality were nice, respectable people. These three had criminal accusations longer than Crow's rap sheet but always managed to wriggle out of trouble with expensive bribes. "We was hoping to run into you." Resisting the urge to correct the grammar, Yusei kept his face carefully neutral.

"That's good to hear. _Yliaster_?" Thickening his Japanese accent for a moment, his brothers put on game faces as caution was thrown to the wind.

"Did I ask who? Is that one of those funny words?" Unwilling to learn new languages, the team knew only a smattering of common words beyond their own tongue and tended to treat them all as unfortunate accidents.

"Just a saying." Smoothing over the ruffle, he tried to move along proceedings.

"We don't want to talk, we want a Duel." Cutting to the chase, the angry face behind the mask already had a victim picked out.

"I'll discuss it with my team." Edging back to his own group, Yusei called his team into a close huddle with a single nod of the head.

"Okay, who wants them?" Grabbing Leo's hand before it could actually raise, Yusei stared at his other brothers. All three knew who they were facing off against.

"Hang on," Straightening up, Jack used the particular glare than indicated he had a plan brewing. Reading his few expressions was a trick his family had quickly picked up. Returning to his Runner, Jack coasted out into the middle of the road.

"We've discussed it amongst higher management." Throwing out the sorts of meaningless phrases that mired endless meetings with imperceptible progress, Jack attempted to negotiate with the aggressive team. "You can Duel our junior member, with us on probation." Equal parts hurt and excited, Leo just sat in emotional turmoil as the other group thought over the offer.

"Fine." Already moving on with the plan, Team Wrecker quickly selected their own representative.

"Crow, you're up." Walking away from the group, Jack sat back down on his Runner.

"Why can't I Duel Team Wrecker?" Full of youthful energy, Yusei had to quickly move his Duel Runner between Leo and the American crew before they noticed his enthusiasm.

"Leo, these guys aren't nice people. Do you know why they call themselves Team Wrecker?" A hopeful theory was because they were quiet, polite people who 'wrecked' parties that got too loud. "They have a habit of breaking apart the Duel Runner of whoever gets in their way. Trust me, this is a not a fight you want to be a part of." Seeing the group in a new light, Leo was afraid. Scars that he had dismissed from accidents suddenly looked like battle wounds. They held themselves not stiffly upright like Jack but looser, swaggering and looking for a fight. And there were lumps beneath their outfits where no sane man would hide something shaped like a large screwdriver... or a small knife.

"Okay." Hanging back with the rest of the team, Leo watched as Team Wrecked sent out their own representative to Duel Crow.

"Name's Sean." Throwing out a crude gesture, he quickly went down in Crow's little book of grudges. "Take the first turn, it won't help." Taking the invitation at face value, Crow sped off before Sean could claim back the advantage.

(Turn 1)

Crow: LP: 4000 SC:1 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

Sean: LP: 4000 SC:1 Hand:5 Field: None Graveyard: None

Eventually reunited by Sean, Crow tuned out the brutal levels of curses directed his way. "I set one monster and two cards." With Calima the Haze's hidden 1800 DEF and Black Feather Beacon in case he took any Effect damage, Crow was ready to ride out the first retaliatory wave. Joined by the rest of the onlookers, Sean took his turn as they approached the outskirts of St Louis and started having to weave through thicker lines of traffic in the last stretch to the city.

(Turn 2)

Crow: LP: 4000 SC:2 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Sean: LP: 4000 SC:2 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

"I summon Gene-Warped Werewolf (L4/2000 ATK/100 DEF)!" Walking on two legs and touting four arms, the result of horrific genetic manipulation seemed from removed from the gentle creature it had once been. "Destroy whatever pathetic creature he has hiding." Watching his sturdy defence get blow away, Crow was rocked by strong winds as the depth of his struggle sank in. Gene-Warped Werewolf had the highest attack points of any Normal class monster that didn't require a tribute. "I set one card and end my turn."

(Turn 3)

Crow: LP: 4000 SC:3 Hand:4 Field: 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster

Sean: LP: 4000 SC:3 Hand:4 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Letting Jack provide a slight barrier between an already celebrating Craig and Wayne, Yusei took the time to fill in Leo on why Jack had picked Crow to Duel them first. "Team Wrecker like to run decks based on Aggro or Beatdown tactics." Up ahead, the super-powered monster certainly seemed more aggressive than normal. "They summon high-powered low-level monsters and stop the opponent from building up any defence."

"Is Crow going to lose?" Making sure Jack was still linked into the conversation first, Yusei let out a loud smirk.

"Blackwing monsters can swarm the field and win a Duel within one turn. It's one of the reasons Jack is worried about Duelling Crow." Up ahead, Jack began shouting and gesturing wildly in the air as Crow took the effort to make a move.

"I summon Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor (L1/800 ATK/0 DEF) in defence position." Pulling the neck of a black leather raincoat up to hide its face, one of Crow's weakest monsters provided a pivot point for his next step. "Because I've already got another Blackwing monster already on my field, I can Special summon Blackwing – Bora the Spear (L4/1700 ATK/800 DEF) in attack mode!" Wielding a spiral lance almost bigger than its wingspan, the squawking bird was obvious bait in a clear trap.

"Labyrinth of Nightmare, activate!" Cackling skulls formed from the ground as Crow's monsters shifted themselves into new positions while their owner took the I-70 bridge over the Missouri River. "Thanks to my Continuous Trap card, whoever ends a turn has to switch the battle positions of all their monsters." Tall buildings sprang up around them as the two teams entered the city proper.

(Turn 4)

Crow: LP: 4000 SC:4 Hand:2 Field: 2 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster

Sean: LP: 4000 SC:4 Hand:5 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

"This doesn't look good for our little mascot." And it didn't. Sean was quick to summon Goblin Attack Force, a Level 4 monster with 2300 ATK and the balancing effect of switching itself to defence at the end of the turn. Due to the Labyrinth of Nightmare, it would simply switch back and leave him with a powerful line of monsters. "Maybe we should have sent in Leo instead." As Leo threatened to explode with joy, Yusei pondered the wisdom of Jack's statement. A Morphtronic Deck did focus on utilising the special abilities of Effect monsters but there Crow had the edge on summoning them.

"I activate Speed Spell – Book of Moon." Sacrificing two Speed Counters, Crow was able to smother the Goblin Attack Force into a face-down defence position as the pair blasted through a set of red lights and let horns honking behind them.

"Fine, I'll just use my Werewolf instead. Sic 'em!" Pounding across the field, the creature grasped Vayu in all four arms and literally tore it to shreds. "I set two cards and end my turn."

(Turn 5)

Crow: LP: 2800 SC:3 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap

Sean: LP: 4000 SC:5 Hand: 2 Field: 2 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

"Because I have a Blackwing on the field, I can summon Blackwing -Elphin the Raven (L6/2200 ATK/1200 DEF) without a tribute." Wearing a purple shamans vest, the bipedal bird was in for a short stay in the spotlight.

"Floodgate Trap Hole!" Flapping wings wildly, Elphin the Raven was sucked back into its card by a watery hole. This time, their run through yet another set of red lights met not only horns being left in the distance but sirens sounding up ahead.

"No way!" Floodgate Trap Hole was a rare card that could force a monster to permanently remain in defence position until it left the field. "Even though you managed to stop it from tearing you apart, the effect of my Elphin can still force your Werewolf into defence position." Howling in subjugation, the creature was forced to cower behind four crossed arms. "And now, my Bora the Spear can still take down your Goblin Attack Force." Hiding beneath the card, the powerful pack of goblins had 0 DEF. "Go, attack with Black Spiral!" Spinning around the spear until it resembled a drill, Bora dove straight through the unresisting card. "Thanks to Bora the Spear's special ability, it can inflict piercing damage to any monster in defence position." Rocked by the attack, Sean took a stunning 1700 points of damage.

Despite the retaliation, it was not a good situation for Crow to be stuck in. There was a deluge of overpowering monsters coming to tear him apart and his defence was falling to pieces. His hand only consisted of Speed Spell – Tune Up 123 and the Trap card Gravity Collapse which relied upon a Synchro Monster to activate. As for his set card, it was Down Force, a Trap which would prevent the removal from play of one monster. As Labyrinth of Nightmare turned Bora into a single line of defence, his situation looked bleak.

(Turn 6)

Crow: LP: 2800 SC:4 Hand:2 Field: 2 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap

Sean: LP: 2300 SC:6 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster

"Think you're clever, do you?!" Enraged that this pipsqueak of a Duellist was daring to fight back, Sean was driving aggressively close to Crow. "Let me show you what clever gets you." Whipping out his card, Sean held it up in the sort of move that had been mirrored the day before. "Witness the power of growth, festering rage put to use." Gene-Warped Werewolf howled as it was dragged into the graveyard. "Behold, Great Maju Garzett!" An overwhelming feeling of dread surrounded them all as the card was slammed into place. Team Wrecker hadn't targetted them by accident, out of professional rivalry or even petty jealousy – Yliaster had sent them with a Shadow Card.

"Leo, sit-rep!" Unfamiliar with the card, Crow didn't feel like waiting around for a long-winded explanation that would be equal parts gloating and boasting as a puss oozing arm wrapped in damp fur from the wrist began forcing itself onto the field.

"Great Maju Garzett is a Level 6 monster with 0 ATK and 0 DEF." Well, that didn't sound too bad. "It has a special ability that allows it's ATK to become double the original value of the monster used to summon it." Hearing the words he was speaking, Leo decided it was better to fall back a ways, Jack and Yusei doing the same.

Gene-Warped Werewolf was at the top of its category, a high-powered monster under Level 5. With 2000 ATK, it had been a tough creature. What was breaking into their reality with an unlimited fury was a creature evolved to the strength of Obelisk the Tormentor, an Egyptian God monster.

"I don't suppose we can talk about this?" Trying to gain as much space as he could from the emerging monster, Sean was viscously grinning beneath his helmet.

"See, we were told to take out Fudo if we could but any one of you is considered fair game and the kid was just easy pickings." It would make sense that Yusei be the main target of the rouge Yliaster factions. It had been a team effort but they had all seen him play the final cards to destroy their previous leader. "With this monster on our side, you're just a stone to be trod into the path." Rippled horns were forced through the growing hole. An arm, shoulder, teeth fused together. Blue bands of scales, malevolent hair sprouting from beneath the shoulder guards. Twenty feet tall, the creature howled as it tore itself free of concept and became a material being.

"Are you open to bribery?" Ignoring the attempts at diversion, Sean weighed his options. Crow's face-down card hadn't been activated when it could have saved him a large chunk of his Life Points so it would probably be safe. Bora the Spear could inflict piercing damage but was of little use against Great Maju Garzett.

"Great Maju Garzett, destroy his Elphin the Raven!" With a higher ATK than Bora the Spear, Elphin posed a marginally larger threat. Unfolding the oozing arms, three orbs on Great Maju Garzett's head and shoulders began glowing with an intense light.

"Get out of there!" Pushing as fast as his Duel Runner could take, Crow ignored the urge to respond to Jack's superfluous advice as he sought to distance himself from the inevitable fallout. Reaching into the card, a struggling Elphin was dragged into view and held before the mighty creature as helpless as a lamb in the jaws of a dinosaur. Unable to do more than caw in panic, the three orbs adorning Great Maju Garzett unleashed a powerful explosion that shattered the side of the bridge as Crow took a right-angle turn to cross the Mississippi River. Though it would later be attributed to a gas leak and nobody was killed, scenes of people covered in dust and rubble were stuck in Yusei's mind as he was forced to keep up the chase.

"Looks like you left yourself wide open!" Though Great Maju Garzett had double the ATK of Gene-Warped Werewolf, it was still stuck with the printed 0 DEF. When Labyrinth of Nightmare forced it into defence position, Bora the Spear would be able to both destroy the great creature and leave Sean barely clinging to a few remaining Life Points.

"Speed Spell – Mystical Space Typhoon." Taking his Speed Counters to level with Crow's, Sean opted to destroy his own card instead of losing an overwhelming advantage. "And take this too. Speed Spell – Sonic Buster." This was about as bad a combination as Sean could have come up with. In the space of one turn, he had destroyed Crow's strongest monster, stopped Labyrinth of Nightmare from leaving him unprotected and Speed Spell – Sonic Buster had the ability to inflict damage to Crow equal to half one monster's ATK – 2000 points of damage from Great Maju Garzett.

Ducking and weaving across the highway, Crow was barely able to avoid any direct hits but was pelted by fragments of erupting rock and stone as the blast shattered the road.

(Turn 7)

Crow: LP: 800 SC:5 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap

Sean: LP: 2300 SC:5 Hand:2 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

Dazed by his brushes with death, Crow tried to focus on his new card. Blackwing – Delta Union. Not a Trap card he was familiar with but it was in his Deck all the same. _Special Summon all Blackwings destroyed on this turn_. Crow didn't bother to read any further. It was useless right then. But he already had a plan underway. "You know, that monster's really something." Drawing up commands on his screen, he flicked through the history of the current Duel. "I know a lovely old blind lady who could do with a guide dog."

"When this creature has buried you, we'll take our measure from your friends." Falling for the taunt, Sean was more focused on his own anger and less on what Crow was trying to do.

"Uh-huh." Finally finding what he was looking for, Crow edged closer to the inside barrier. "Keep dreaming." On the field before him, the Blackwing emblem manifested itself in a ruby glow. "From my graveyard, I activate the effect of Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor!"Appearing inside the outline, Elphin the Raven let loose a series of harsh caws. "By removing Vayu and one other Blackwing in my graveyard from play, I can perform a Synchro summon." Enveloped in flames and hardship, Elphin was stripped of feathers and garbed in something more fitting its role. "Gust fiercely, Blackwing Armor Master (L7/2500 ATK/1500 DEF)!" Reborn with new intent and metal coating, the Armor Master was still barely half the size of Great Maju Garzett.

"Do the math. There's a lot more of my creature than yours." Self-assured in his own power, Sean had failed to fully account for exactly why Crow had been chosen to Duel for Team 5D's.

"Oh, yeah? Armor Master, take him down!" Soaring across the gap between the two players, a tightened metal gauntlet rebounded off the jewel in the centre of Great Maju Garzett's forehead.

"Wait, why is your monster still standing?" Unphased by the suicide run, Armor Master continued to beat at the steady air with wings of steel.

"Flying, actually. Blackwing Armor Master doesn't take any damage and can't be destroyed in a battle." It made not only for a strong defence but a perfect offence as well. "And when he fails to destroy a monster, he leaves behind a little something for them." Buried in the jewel, a tiny dagger had been left behind. "Of course, every loan has a price and when Armor Master takes back his Wedge Counter, your monster loses all its ATK." Cracks that had formed around the dagger became chasms as it exploded, shattering the gems in each shoulder as part of a chain reaction.

"So what?" Incensed by the damage to his creature, Sean was uncaring of the danger he was in. "You left your Bora-Bora in defence mode. There's nothing else you can do!"

"It's Bora the Spear, not Bora-Bora." Calm with victory on his side, Crow was ready to accept the slight. "I activate Synchro Ring!" Closing the gap to his brother, Jack chuckled as Yusei and Leo fell into a tight pattern behind him.

"If you can't beat them, steal their cards and hope for the best." Some years ago during the Fortune Cup, Yusei had used the exact same Trap in his Duel against Akiza. It was a perfect fit for Blackwing Armor Master.

"When a Synchro monster I control attacks a monster you control but doesn't destroy it, it gets to double its ATK and try again." Swelling into enormity, Sean finally understood his folly.

"It looks like the pipsqueak might be worthy of actually joining us after all." Ignoring his brother's quips on the radio, Crow directed his monster to tackle Great Maju Garzett into the ground and tear it to shreds. As the limbs flailed about in death throes, great lumps of tarmac and paint were flung everywhere. Jack led Yusei and Leo through a narrow path that avoided the worst of the rubble and simply ignored the pieces that bounced off them. Craig and Wayne, who had only been making crude jokes about Crow's death moments before, were caught in the debris and found themselves tumbling end over end as Sean was hit by a limb and his Duel Runner totally destroyed.

(Game Over)

Winner: Crow Hogan

Crawling away from the wreckage of his Duel Runner, Sean was screaming the sorts of words that only very old or very rich people are usually allowed to say. Falling on the ground, a card that had almost cost Crow and several bystanders the gift of life dissolved beneath his fingertips. "Take that back to your bosses." Breathing heavily through a blow to his stomach, Crow was still a formidable sight with the enhanced Blackwing Armor Master hovering behind him. "And tell them we'll take them on any time they want." With the rest of his friends joining him, Crow turned and continued down the highway. "Can they still see us?" Checking behind them, Leo was amazed at the backlog of traffic already forming around the failing Duellists.

"Not unless they can see through three trucks and a dozen bodies." Picking up the pace, Crow chased the end of the traffic ahead.

"Let's get out of here." Coaxing a bit more power from his engine, he gained another notch on the dials. "Because I don't want to do that again."

"We had such high hopes for you." Dryly keeping pace, Jack was semi-sincere in his words. "Any new Yliaster goons get to meet you while the rest of us relax in the shade."

"Nice drinks, a few chocolate bars." Getting the theme of the jokes, Leo was readily accepted into the verbal sparring match.

"I'll call Akiza." Keeping only one eye on the road, Yusei was still a better driver than most people. "Get her to set up a meet." It had been a gruelling match and there was little they could do but rendezvous, unwind and prepare for the next battle.

Crow's turn-around victory had not gone unnoticed. A short distance beyond the curve of the horizon, a face towards the sensation that the sun would never shine again and a sound that could at best be described as 'purplish-black'. Dropping a bloody masked face to the ground, it set a new course, not towards the epicentre of the explosion but a few hundred miles to the west.

* * *

In the end, Crow had picked out the perfect place to meet up. Driving westward, he had stopped the group a short distance on the outskirts of a town he had liked the look of. When pressed for a reason, he had simply turned, pointed at the sign behind him and said: "Because Sparta is all about the little guy winning." Unable to come up with a better reason to move on, the four friends had walked their Duel Runners a short way off the road and collapsed from moderate exhaustion. It had been twilight when the experimental truck driven by Obake finally made it to the meeting place just an hour or two after the agreed time.

"It's my fault." Clambering out behind Akiza and Luna, Obake ignored the tearful reunions and opened up the side of the truck. "There was an accident between two teams and it took some time for help to arrive." America believing in the power of money, under-insured foreigners taking part in a competition had the lowest priority. Instead, Akiza had rendered almost frontier medicine insofar as the Grayston truck came more medically equipped than a few of the towns they had driven through in the journey across the land until a real ambulance arrived

Pulling out a large foldable table from the now sparsely stocked innards, Obake dragged out a set of thick covers as well. "There's another storm forecast for tonight." Cleaning their Duel Runners enough to become usable again had been a gruelling task once and the group weren't eager to repeat the process. "How was your day?" Everybody tensed up slightly. Obake was an unknowing bystander in a complicated war between the group and Yliaster. Trying to explain the existence of Shadow Cards was an unnecessary complication they weren't going to have.

"Not bad." Easily the best liar of the group, it was also the most trusted member who spoke up. "We only had one Duel and made some good ground." Tugging the cover into place, Yusei tied it into place around his wheels.

"Of course, Crow almost fouled it up." Struggling to cover his unique Duel Runner with the cloth, Jack waited for Leo's inevitable desire to do anything for Jack to kick in and help him. "Idiot got himself down to 800 Life Points."

"Isn't that still a fifth of the total amount?" Locking the container back up, Obake seemed trying to make an effort to understand.

"It's the principle of the thing." Finally managing to pull the cover over the single enormous wheel, Jack noticed innumerable tiny bumps and scratches in the material that indicated the growing need for a replacement. "Only a Duellist could really understand." It wasn't a harsh statement – Jack had actually been unusually polite in recent days – but it was enough to force Obake to revaluate himself. Despite all his efforts to fit in and the endless help he had given, the group only saw him as another face in the crowd. It was a sobering reminder of his position. Clambering back into the truck, he despondently began picking through the fridge for enough food to sate four starving men.

"Groupie alert!" Barrelling out of nowhere, Crow's reflexes were sharp enough that he was able to throw himself to the floor before Musume could get him in another choke-hold.

"Too slow." Turning to face the slim bundle, he was mortified to see her brown leather jacket lying on the floor as a body wrapped itself and his back and began squeezing the air from his neck.

"I said," Tightening her grip slightly, she waited until one leg collapsed before letting go. " _Groupie alert._ " Snagging her jacket from the floor, she slid it atop the long-sleeved white shirt that covered every inch of her voluptuous frame. "How's tricks?" Reaching down a hand, she helped Crow to his feet as he continued to make noises like ' _gak_ ', ' _ahr_ ' and the always popular ' _skrgl_ '.

"How did you find us?" Crunching various parts of his throat back into place, he tried to shake the feeling his friends were quietly judging his every move.

"Somebody blows up half a town, you tend to hear about it." Zipping the jacket back up, she shared nods, crude gestures and cold shoulders with the rest of the group. "Nobody dead but several reports mention a Duel happening shortly before. It doesn't take a genius to figure out somebody hunting Yliaster would be at the centre of it all." As they tried to accept the inevitable logic, Obake carefully negotiated his way down the stairs with about a dozen different containers cradled in his arms. "Two questions," Drawing a knife from up her sleeve – which had been curiously free of knives just a minute before – Musume pointed it at a spot just between a tub of tuna and another of mashed potatoes where the barest hint of a grey shirt was showing. "Who is he and is there anything to drink?"

"Two questions," Carefully unloading the packets, Obake didn't spare her a second glance. "Who is she?"

"That's only one." Grabbing a container of squid, she speared a piece on the end of the knife and began chewing. With two at least partially masked face staring one another down in companionable anger, the situation could explode at any moment.

"How to hide the body depends on how much I like the first answer." Acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary, he continued to unpack the various packs of food.

"Let's all stay calm," Sliding into the stand-off before somebody could be stabbed – that would inevitably come later – Akiza was quick to diffuse the situation. "Obake, this is Musume, an... old friend." With her creepy attachment to Crow, there was no other way Akiza could think of to explain Musume. "Musume, Obake works with Yusei and me at the SRC." A sudden flash of memory crossed her mind. Obake had been present for all of two seconds when Musume broke out of her containment pod and the flying piece of metal risked taking his head off. In the commotion that had, she had completely forgotten he had even been present.

"Okay then." Sliding the slim blade back to places unexplainable, Musume grabbed the rest of the container and began shovelling the food down her gullet with a lack of manners that made Obake shudder.

"I'll get the rest of the food." As the sun fully dipped below the horizon and darkness began settling across the land, they managed to feast on several courses of food that Obake had planned on giving out to a dozen teams over the course of the last day. Musume was reluctantly accepted into the group and it was several tense minutes before anybody even realised their host had simply gone into the truck with a stack of dirty containers and not returned. Unfortunately, that 'anybody' happened to be Musume and she managed to raise enough to care to pause between dishes but little else.

After an hour, Obake returned briefly to bring some short candles, carry away the dirty dishes and containers before coming back out again only long enough to set a small fire and vanish again. With that unsettling way he blended into the background at the SRC, Akiza barely noticed him but realised that he had been there by the impact he left behind. "We should probably turn in." More physically exhausted than mentally – Akiza found her constant worry at Obake's next snap had drained most of her energy and Luna had been drained by having to help set a pair of broken limbs – the pair had decided to turn in early. "It's the last day of the competition and I don't want to miss a minute of it." With three members of the group down, Crow exhausted from his encounter with the Shadow Card, Yusei still tired from his four-day lack of sleep and Leo at the stage where he was constantly tired, only Jack and Musume seemed like even a half-hearted threat. And that was with Musume half-dead from an entire bottle of rice wine as they all schlepped from the table to relax at various points around the campsite. All this and more was plainly in view to the shadowy onlookers.

Wisely assuming that Jack would be the greatest threat, Team Wrecker carefully edged themselves towards his slumbering form, hefting large pieces of wood or wrapping cloth around knuckles. Since their sore defeat earlier that day, all had been waiting hungrily for the chance of getting revenge. "Ready?" Their official leader was Craig. A thug with a face that only a very blind mother could love, he was holding a thick branch picked up near the road. "Now!" Swinging down with all his might on the whispered command, Craig hit Jack with unerring accuracy in the stomach, knocking all the air out of his lungs and cutting off all chances of calling for help. Unable to offer much in the way of retaliation, the world champion was only able to curl into a ball and wait for the rain of blows to stop. After several minutes, Craig grunted the attack to a halt, correctly assuming that Jack must be unconscious by now. Working around the campfire, he pulled the group up next to the second one-man tent. Their plan, simple to the point of idiocy, was proceeding well. After taking out Yusei, he held no doubt that his crew would have no obstacles between them, a good nights feeding, and a veritable trove of unique and powerful cards.

Already sure of his victory, Craig made the worst mistake any criminal could. He relaxed and the bar sank a few inches, catching his victim in the leg. Normally, this would be no problem but the unexpected resistance jarred the bar loose from his hands, Leo waking from his low slumber with a yell. As other blows started to shower, he continued his banshee scream, raising the rest of the camp. Obake was first to react, scrambling out from within his truck and shielding his eyes from the dim light of the banking fire. Seeing the circling threat, he had time to shout a single word before a sturdy punch sent him out into the darkness.

Akiza and Luna tried their best to leave the cabin and help but the door refused to open. Several tugs of the handle and even a few boots against the pane of glass made something clear – they were locked in tight. "Did Obake do this?" Scrambling through the cupboards, the pair looked high and low for anything they could use to escape.

"Just find something to open the door." Outside, Crow and Yusei had managed to engage a Wrecker each. Unsurprisingly, Musume was proving herself easily capable even as Yusei was caught in a strong hold by Craig and Crow managed to trip a charming fellow named Sean over. Returning from the dark like some vengeful ghost, Obake practically flew through the air and grappled Musume's victims from behind.

"Now now," Wrapping both legs tight about the thick torso, he applied a choke-hold strong enough to make even the big man dizzy. "Play fair." Even in the midst of the fight, his impeccable mannerisms refused to slip as Musume watched in bemusement and headed off to help with the other two. Forgoing the idea of 'fair play', his rodeo ride – by the name of Wayne – bucked hard enough to send Obake rolling. Even more unfair, his latest acquaintance pulled out a switchblade knife and held it in a menacing posture. "Nnn," Watching the light glint off the blade, Obake suddenly seemed unable to control a stutter. "How about we go our own ways?" Bravely deciding underhand tricks were perfectly valid, he lifted one leg and tried to kick Wayne in what some people referred to as 'the rocks'.

Back across the banked campfire, Yusei managed to backhand his opponent across the face only to receive a solid blow in return. Running low on sleep already, the blow was enough to split his vision in two for a short time and it was only the heroic distraction of Musume that stopped him from turning into another body in the backroads. Sadly, Crow's fighter also took advantage of the commotion and threw Crow against Yusei, leaving Musume momentarily fighting alone and letting Craig grab Yusei in a tight hold by his neck.

Whilst Musume tried not to break anything vital in her muscle-bound target, Obake was faced with the prospect of a charging rhino and his back to the wall of the truck. His reactions were fast enough to catch the wrist before the knife could sink into his stomach but he didn't spend enough time lifting weights to force it back away. Behind him, Obake could see the struggle Musume and the others were getting in. "Please don't do this." Voice filling with tears, he tried appealing to the better nature. "You don't have to do this." That seemed to give the scarred face pause.

"Nah, but I _wanna_." With renewed vigour, Wayne slid the blade slightly closer, eagerly anticipating the rising fear in the pale face. When it didn't come, he figured it was because shock had set in. That happened sometimes. Just not today.

"I'll try not to kill you." Dropping his hold on the wrist, Obake smashed his forehead across the bridge of the nose in front of him. An effective manoeuvrer at the best of times, it was aided by pulling down on the shoulders and a slight jump. Blind from the sudden stars, it was impossible for Wayne to see the blow coming to his throat or realise the hold dragging him by one ear and pushing him on the other would result with a painful collision with the truck. Stars gave way to a nebula and Wayne found himself stumbling around dazed. Had his skull been less accustomed to taking heavy blows, it would have knocked cold outright. Instead, he was back upright and heading for Musume with increased levels of anger.

Further out from the caravan, Yusei managed to wriggle the hold on him by punching the soft flesh behind Craig's knees. Craig was a broad man and suddenly having no legs to stand on made him anxious to not smash his face into the ground, even going so far as to drop Yusei for just long enough to regain his footing. Beside him, Sean was taking pleasure in taunting Crow. Whilst the young man had the edge on speed and dodging, any of the blows from Sean could lay him out cold and put too high a risk on getting closer. Musume was fairing worst of all. Unsure of exactly how much pressure she could exert, she was pulling her punches until they were little more than light taps. There was any number of ways she could end this fight but most of them also ended Wayne's life at the same time. She was just solidly taking the blows and waiting for him to tire out.

Heaving himself upright from the ground, Obake fumbled the door with a curse, pushing Luna and Akiza out of his way as he did. Tearing a false panel from the back-panel to the booth bench, he pulled a slim device from inside and tore a tiny sliver from one end. Forcing them all further into the truck, he threw the cylinder through the door and slammed it shut behind them again. Even in the middle of the fight, Yusei recognised the tiny flying package just in time to cover his ears. Crow was smart enough to follow his example, throwing an arm across his face and clamping it down tight. The Wreckers, too ignorant to know what was really going on, followed their instincts and threw up arms against their own eyes. Yusei managed to get off a solid kick into his opponent's torso an instant before the stun grenade exploded, solid walls of sound and light engulfing all the fighters in the area. Musume, Akiza, Luna and their cover were protected, enclosed in their own little worlds. Wayne, slower than the rest, collapsed to the dirt before Musume like some humbled acolyte before his angry god. Yusei fared next worst, his eyes barely a foot from the explosion and the light blinding his vision whilst his covered ears were left only slightly-ringing, the complete opposite of Crow. Musume was quick to finish off her opponent, a well-placed tap to a nerve cluster lapsing him into unconsciousness.

Savouring the triumph, she turned to see a deafened Crow fending off attacks from his opponent as Yusei swung wildly about himself, his own opponent approaching Crow from behind. Time slowed to crawl as Musume launched herself across the distance, screaming all the while. A powerful uppercut sent one Wrecker flying into the darkness, a shattered jaw his memento of the fight. The other managed to knock Crow down into a daze, his arm still raised in the punch as Musume hurtled herself headlong into his chest, propelling the pair across almost several meters as his ribs cracked beneath the onslaught. Punching him relentlessly, she was only aware of what she had done when someone caught an upturned fist and was flung over her shoulder for the trouble.

"Get off." That same someone was quick to tackle her off the comatose body, watching Akiza and Luna set to work on the wounded. Yusei was sitting perfectly still on the floor, occasionally waving a hand in front of his blank eyes. Leo woke up, coughing up his dinner at first but quickly progressing to dry heaving.

"Damn it!" Obake limped over to drag Musume upright by her arm and began pulling her towards the others. Dropping her beside a deafened Crow and directed the pair towards his truck Obake hefted Yusei over one shoulder and kicked the remaining pile of branches into the flaring embers in an effort to renew the fire. Careful not to scare his boss too much, he gently placed him against the thick tire and let Akiza take over medical responsibilities.

"What's wrong with his eyes?" Leo was able to sit up by now but still looked pale and held his head slightly to one side. Akiza gently tied her hairband across Yusei's eyes, knotting it gently at the back of his head before tapping the unresponsive figure on one shoulder. Prodding again, she apparently came to a sound medical diagnosis and pulled back her hand. The sound of a solid slap hitting Yusei's face almost drowned out her apology. The former Signer snapped out of his shock and touched the tender skin on his face and the wrapping about his face with two fingers of his right hand.

"Oh." He struggled to his feet, ignoring Obake's attempts to help him up. "How did we do?" Akiza watched Luna tend to Jack as she talked with Yusei.

"Jack has some abdominal bruising but should be fine." She gently laid one of her left hand on his shoulder and slowly directed him towards the bottom step of the truck, talking in a comforting tone all the while. "Leo took quite a heavy blow to his stomach but only seems to be mildly nauseous as a result and Crow took a nasty blow to the head and maybe lost his remaining brain cell." She gently seated Yusei on the step and crouched down in front of him.

"And then there's me." Yusei tapped his right temple with an index finger, an errant smile playing over his face. "The blind leading the blind." Akiza slowly lifted one side of the bandage and shone a pencil light at Yusei's pupil. Heavily contracted, the eye darted around the socket as Yusei vainly attempted to see about himself. "How bad is it?" Akiza lowered the blindfold again and patted one of Yusei's hands.

"I'm sure that you'll be able to ride in the morning." She threw a quick glance over at the rest of the group. Obake had handed Leo a small bottle of water for him to rinse his mouth out with before moving to help Luna care for Jack and Crow. Crow was conscious but barely lucid and Jack showed little signs of stirring with a healthy snore echoing across the miles. "Everyone else seems to be pulling themselves back together. Come on." She tugged him upright and lead him back into the truck. Gently pushing Yusei onto his bunk, she helped him remove his shirt and tucked him under the covers. "I want you to stay here for the next few hours." Yusei would have wept to see the expression on her face as he reached up a hand toward his eyes. "And leave that there. Doctor's orders." Yusei treated her to his dazzling smile.

"Of course, Dr Izinski." She squeezed his hand once before heading back outside to assess the situation. Obake was vainly attempting to stop Crow from getting to his feet and Leo was practically drooping against the side of the truck in an effort to remain upright. Team Wrecker were, to a man, out cold. Musume was sitting apart from the rest of the group, staring at her shaking hands. Akiza knew that if even a single Wrecker was to awaken, she would be unable to protect the others by herself. Obake had a solution to the problem, swiping two pairs of handcuffs from behind the false panel and clamping Team Wrecker together by the legs.

"Can you hook up the Duel Runners to the back of the truck or something?" Obake turned to his left and stared at the vague silhouettes in the deepening darkness.

"Only if they don't belong to a world champion." Following the shape of the Duel Runners, the problem quickly became evident. Crow and Leo's Runner were basically cuboid blocks but Jack's was a single giant wheel and Yusei's arch would either have to be removed or ride alongside the truck with the rest of the machine. "Patch up two drivers or they're getting left behind."

As the _de facto_ head of the stricken team, Akiza quickly assessed the damage. Jack couldn't stand upright even if they could wake him up, Yusei was blind for several hours at best, Leo was still puking in the bathroom and only Crow was even remotely capable of riding a Duel Runner. The flashbang would leave him with a ringing in his ears until the morning but his sight was relatively fine and a few painkillers from Obake's military-grade supply would leave him free enough to ride. It was not the solution she felt medically comfortable giving but the other options included waiting for another Yliaster-sponsored team to hunt them down, abandon the Duel Runners or get another person just well enough to ride again.

"Luna, help me get Jack and Leo inside." Luna finished patching up Jack before she turned to help her brother.

"On it." Akiza started to pack up the medical kit and threw it carelessly back into the truck in preparation for the off. She hefted Jack over her shoulder with Luna taking his other side. Between the two of them, they managed to load the rest of the group onto the truck. There wasn't enough room for everyone to be treated around the table so Akiza clinically dumped him into the booth to let him sleep it off. As they placed their wounded friends about the truck, Obake loaded the two smaller Duel Runners into the area beneath his truck and sealed it up again. Slipping inside, he dropped their Duel Disks onto one side of the both and snagged a pair of scissors and a roll of tape from beneath the sink before taking his seat in the cockpit.

"Musume will do it." Buckling his way into one of the spare seats at the back, Yusei had come up with the solution to a problem nobody else had wanted to break to him. "She can ride my Runner."

"What?" Still slightly in shock, Akiza had placed the masked woman in the seat across from him. "Why me?"

"Akiza's the doctor, the rest of us are barely alive." Carefully tracing the plugs, he slipped another into the correct socket. "Plainly because riding a mono-wheel takes a lot of practice so Crow can drive Jack's and you can drive mine." It was a minor miracle that Jack didn't wake from his stupor and kill them all as Crow riffled through his pockets for the keys. "Obake, do you know anywhere we can hide?" After avoiding Yliaster for two years by himself, it was a fair bet that the young man wouldn't stop anywhere without having at least one way out and another to hide indefinitely.

"A couple." Hissing through the sound of tearing cloth, he tried to focus on two problems at once. "Make sure your friends don't crash into the back of us – I won't be using any lights." Some particular wanna-be spy had pressed to have several alternatives installed and each one was more unorthodox than the last. One seemed to be a type of sonar and another reacted to movement. "And hide those damn tournament cards in the truck somewhere – I don't want somebody tracking us again." As Luna carefully gathered the unique slips of plastic and stored them safely in individual pods, Akiza made a last round on her patients to make sure they were well enough to take a bumpy ride in the truck.

"Any wooziness, light-headed or pains?" Poking spots on Leo's stomach, Akiza watched him wince and moan. "You got hit in the stomach. Nothing broken, take some painkillers and call me in the morning." Her people skills were only matched by her often cold bedside manner. She usually found it most effective to treat her patients with a touch of bluntness. It saved time in the long run and she could be comforting when they adjusted to their realities. "Crow, how's the hearing?" To his mind, she was just mouthing mean insults at him. It probably spoke volumes about the mind behind the eyes. "Here." Handing him a couple of pills and some water, she pointed towards the door.

Up at the front of the vehicle, Obake slumped down into his seat and looked the length of his transport. "Everybody ready to go?" There was an almost comical groan of suspension as he settled into the biting point, heavily weighed down by the Duel Runners loaded onto his truck.

"How long do you think we have before they wake up?" Luna slowly edged herself up the corridor and folded into the passenger seat as Musume closed the outside door and the twin roars of Jack and Yusei's Runner filled the night.

"A few minutes until they wake up. Maybe an hour or so until they get free." A slight jostle had him hiss and slow back down to a slow jog until they reached an actual road. "I punctured a few tires as well. They're not catching up any time soon." Another lump in the road had him grunt but Luna was too busy trying to bring a map up on the screen to notice.

"Any idea where we're going?" Something crunched under the wheels of the truck as the darkness sucked away all but a few feet of road ahead.

"Away from here." It occurred to the pair that although being passengers on the trip of a lifetime, they only had a cursory idea of where they were. In all the excitement of the tournament, they hadn't paid much attention to where they were going. "Try and get some sleep, you'll need it in the morning." Luna gave a snort, realising that the sheer amount of adrenaline in her system could overcome several mild sedatives.

* * *

They drove for just over two hours, stopping infrequently so Akiza could check on her patients' progress or one of them could use the bathroom to vomit. Both happened too often for Obake's peace of mind but he put up with it. In truth, he needed to stop as much as any of them but years of balancing risks put stopping higher than going on. After countless backroads replaced flat country with thickly crowded forest, Obake finally turned on faint foglights to gently guide the group down a winding road between the trees. After another twenty minutes speeding down narrow lanes and twisting corners, the driver gently let the vehicle coast to a nearly complete stop and crept down a dirt track on nothing but clutch control and the lowest controllable gear.

It was a miracle that they hadn't hit anything in the dark but when they finally reached an area safe enough to take a breath the first thing Obake did was collapse backwards in his seat. Luna stretched her tired muscles before fumbling on the centre display to find some command for the lights along the galley. At some point in the drive, her companion had donned the robe-like hoodie again and was covered up like a murder victim at a crime scene as the door banged open far behind them.

"Riding a Duel Runner is so much easier on my legs. I should get one." Tossing the keys towards a blind Yusei, Luna fumbled the catch as Musume settled herself against the counter and looked at the sorry ensemble of passengers.

"How is everybody doing?" Thinking he was whispering, Crow was speaking at a nearly normal volume as he carefully replaced the keys in Jack's pocket and hauled him in the direction of his sleeping pod.

"We're all still in one piece, thanks to Leo." Still dazed by his ordeal, Akiza had ruled out a concussion and sent the young man to bed. "Yusei should be able to ride in the morning and Jack will have a nasty headache but he doesn't seem to have a concussion. Where are we?" Obake pried himself away from the steering wheel and waved one pinned-back sleeve to indicate the trees visible through the front windscreen.

"We're in the Nantahala forest. It's about nine hours from the finish line. Wherever Team Wrecker is, they shouldn't be able to track us." Last time, they appeared to have ditched Sean's busted Runner and followed them by sight but the shadows of night had shrouded their movements this time. "One of the genii who worked on this beast put in signal blockers. Only the people in this truck know where we are." Tensing his muscles slightly, he seemed to stifle a yawn. "I'm going to put covers on the Runners outside, just in case there's a tracker on one of them." Slipping through the group, they waited for him to close the door before talking.

"How much does he know?" First to break the silence was the constantly unhelpful Musume as she unbuckled her antique Duel Disk to add to the growing pile in the booth alongside Jack's own. Under normal circumstances, they would have been left attached to the Runners but the group was on high alert following the attack and unwilling to take the risk of the key piece of equipment getting sabotaged or stolen.

"Obake thinks Yliaster is a religious cult." Rising to his feet, Yusei looked in her rough direction. Everything was starting to become a big dark blur which was better than nothing. "Everything practical is true, everything unnatural is superstition. What about you?"

"Team Wrecker had a Shadow Card." Meeting his blind stare, Musume tried to overpower it but kept sliding off his impassive barrier. "It's no coincidence that you're here trying to stop Yliaster – half of it anyway."

"No." Shocked by the revelations, Luna simply listened as the rest of the group talked amongst themselves. "These rogue factions seem determined to win at any cost. They've infiltrated the competition, supported teams with Shadow Cards and tried to sabotage us at every turn."

"You think this is every turn?" Reaching into a pocket, she withdrew the cracked remnants of countless tournament identification cards. "I've been hunting them all down since this tournament started." Hunting being the operative word. She had methodically picked away at the forces with either sabotage for the lackeys or outright aggression for actual members of Yliaster.

"One of these days," Watching her carelessly sweep them into a pull-out bin, Akiza look moderately terrified and/or impressed. "We're going to have a long talk about... everything." Seeing another handful vanish into the bin, she wondered how much of the competition had been cut down by their wild friend. "Soon."

"For now, everybody should get some rest." Sliding his hands across surfaces, Yusei felt his way towards his pod by memory, ruining his commanding tone slightly. "It's the last day of the competition tomorrow and we have to get to Annapolis by five." It was a ten-hour drive from where they were hiding and that was if they didn't get taken down by a Yliaster team along the way.

Ducking away from the conversation, Luna gratefully collapsed into her bed and was asleep within minutes. After performing one last check on her patients, Akiza left an array of medical equipment laid out across the booth in case of an emergency and flopped erratically into a light doze she had learnt on the night shift. She could be awake and performing first-aid within five minutes, surgery after two shots of espresso and a sandwich. Finding herself a raggedy blanket in the cockpit, Musume threw her Skates onto one seat, folded down the two across the aisle and was asleep within seconds, courtesy of one of many little secrets she had hoped she would never have to share with anybody. After a few minutes, the only sound was the faint breathing of sleeping bodies – and the tiny click of the door opening.

"Okay," Pressing one hand against his stomach, Obake hobbled back into the cabin and locked the door behind himself. "The Runners," A marginally embellished story about doing the work that had taken two men before by himself fell flat as he examined the empty galley. After the damp sweat, hidden tears and literal blood he had shed, the various acquaintances he had given so much for had simply forgotten about him. In the case of three of them, it was not the first time.

Limping slightly to avoid making any undue noise, Obake found that even his attempt to get some little rest was foiled by the same crazy woman who had threatened to stab him simply because he was serving dinner. Not eager to risk his life again, he turned back towards the booth only to see medical equipment laid out against half the booth and Duel Disks occupying the rest. It was evident that one of two things had happened – they simply didn't care or he was so beneath their notice, they really didn't care to remember him. Regardless of their particular apathy, the end result was Obake left standing with a hand to his stomach in the dark hallway and nowhere to sleep. A normal person would have moved the Duel Disks but having spent two days learning about the pride of Duellists and stories about what Jack would do to anybody who touched any of his Duelling equipment made him reluctant to risk his life on a whim. Instead, as with his flight from Yliaster, he found an unorthodox solution.

Lying perfectly still in his bunk, Yusei's adrenaline-infused mind constantly replayed the events of the night. _Both ears had been ringing slightly but he could still hear most of what was happening. Something large moved past his head at speed, headed towards the direction he knew Crow was in. From the shouting he had heard as the person rushed by, it was certainly Musume but what she was screaming sounded impossible. "Get away from him!" A sickening crunch sounded that any seasoned Turbo Duellist would recognise as the breaking of multiple ribs. She managed to scream again, just before the door slammed open and the others could return._ Turning over in the bed, Yusei pondered the implications of what he had heard. _Cracking ribs, two bodies hitting the floor as Musume sought to protect Crow. Bones crunching, knuckles meeting bloody face. And above it all, Musume's damning scream: "Get away from my father!"_

 ** _If you've made it this far, you either had a map or just wanted leave a review. Go on, you know you want to.  
_**


	8. Friday

The pale dawn light brought with it the grim realisation of how much damage Team Wrecker had done. Akiza had awoken herself intermittently to check up on her patients and Luna had risen from nightmares more times than she cared to count. Leo had healed quickly, the damage done to his stomach significantly more limited than the attacks done to either Jack or Crow. Jack still had a spinning head if he stood up too quickly but insisted he was perfectly fine and was able to pass Akiza's tests with faded colours. Crow still complained of a slight ringing in his ears but reacted quickly enough when Jack began insulting him from behind. Leading Yusei by one arm, they had all gathered in the booth and slumped into various limbs. It was a testament to the twin's bond that Luna didn't shove Leo off her shoulder as Crow shoved his brother almost to the floor.

"What's the plan?" Wrapped in the ragged blanket like an old lady with a shawl, Musume was pressing her aching head against a raised cupboard.

"It's a ten-hour drive to reach Annapolis." Half an eyelid from being asleep, Crow was claiming more exhaustion than Jack on grounds of having to ride a Duel Runner. There would be a brutal fight when Jack discovered Crow's Runner was stored in the hold and reached the logical conclusion. "We're a man down and running on fumes."

"And banged up pretty good." Opening the fridge, Musume was surprised to see an actual end to the seemingly endless stores of food she had been inhaling the night before.

"Like you were any help!" Sporting bruised ribs and a purple eye, Jack was getting increasingly angry at the almost useless observer from their fight the night previously.

Daintily picking a metal butter dish from inside the fridge, she pointedly held it nonchalantly in one hand. "Now, I know it may look like I pulled my punches." Tensing her fingers, she began squeezing gently. "But push through the pain of actually using the squishy grey matter in your skull for a minute," Butter squirted over her hand as the metal buckled and split between her still clenching fingers. "Imagine would could happen if I hit somebody just a bit too hard." Dropping the ruined mess into the sink, the sound made them all jump slightly.

"How are you so strong?" Worried slightly that not offering her a secure bunk had put him in her bad books, Crow was terrified by the display of sheer power.

"Damned if you know." She wasn't being metaphorical. If she ever had cause to tell him, the situation would be seriously bad already.

"Behave." With everything having slowly morphed from a large dark blur into a large light blur, Yusei was verging on certain he was going to be grounded that day as well.

"Where's the coffee?" Masking his anger with more anger, Jack reached for a new topic.

"Where's the food?" More focused on the important topics, Leo nevertheless followed his idol's train of thought. At that point, the most empathetic member finally realised what was missing.

"Where's Obake?" Luna's question stopped the conversation dead. Their ignorant driver had last been noticed leaving the truck to cover the two Duel Runners the night before which – a quick glance through secured windows confirmed – were still safely secured outside.

"Just to be clear," Scrounging the blanket into a thick ball, Musume tossed it carelessly into the cockpit before zipping up the front of her brown leather jacket. "That's the freaky pale guy who pissed off Yliaster?" It was a cruel assessment but quick and accurate.

"Pretty much." Not a particular fan of the driver either, Crow was uncaring to correct her. In fact, for one reason or another, Jack was the biggest fan of Obake at that exact moment in time, even if only for the coffee he provided.

"So our current situation is without a driver, down one Duellist, ten hours from safety and with Yliaster closing in?" Succinctly summing up the situation, Leo made the voice of doom sounded weirdly happy.

"Musume, can you ride my Duel Runner again?" Prioritising the things he could control first, Yusei drew a variety of looks from his friends. "Just for a few hours, until my sight fully returns?"

"Again?" Still catching up on the events that had transpired while he was unconscious, Jack was getting frighteningly close to finding out about Crow riding the one-wheeled Runner.

"Sure. But you owe me." She might spin it as a favour but being able to sit down and make progress was a minor miracle. Her Duel Skates were not designed for the sorts of distances she had been covering and both legs were slowly morphing into rubble.

"Drive fast and we can probably cut down the travel time to eight hours." Lifting the hairband from his eyes, Yusei smiled vaguely around the table. "See? Two problems down." Hearing a slight noise coming from by her knees, Musume crouched down and stared at the cupboard in moderate amazement.

"Tell me that you're not in there?" Hearing no reply, she pulled the door open and stared at the blade thrusting towards her face. "Really?" With the remaining few items moved from the cupboard, Obake had slept on a large bag of rice with a knife in hand. "Why were you sleeping in a cupboard?"

"Well," Edging out from the cupboard, the befuddled face blinked blearily in the morning light. "You took the only two spots in the cockpit and your friend once knocked a guy out just for touching his Duel Disk."

"Is there any food?" Clinging to his side, Obake was genuinely amazed by the question from Leo. Being asked to make breakfast after having slept in a cupboard all night, Obake was less than keen to remain polite.

"Please, help yourself." Splitting the difference, he grabbed a mug from a higher cupboard and poured himself a glass of water. "Is there a plan yet?" His lack of civility, accompanied by a brusque tone, was enough to put him at greater odds with the group.

"We're just putting one together now." Eager to maintain the fragile peace between the three parties, Yusei played down their panic as Obake schlepped down to his chair in the cockpit.

"Great, so how do we get to Annapolis without bumping into," Kicking his brother sharply in the ankle, Crow stopped Jack before he could slip up within Obake's hearing. "Any competitors?" Shelving the retaliation for later, he actually seemed capable of prioritising the situation.

"There's a few forests that link together towards the north." Luna had been curious about the largest streak of green on the west coast and looked a little closer. They were currently hidden in the Nantahala Forest but growing north were the Pisgah, Cherokee and the larger Monongahela that would take them almost all the way to end of the journey. "If we go through the Cherokee Forest onto the I-81, we can follow the road to all the way to Washington and then we're practically in Annapolis."

"Are we really skipping breakfast?" Unable to think on an empty stomach (or a full one) Leo was focused on the most important meal of the day – the next one.

"Here." Pulling a packet of salmon from the fridge, Musume carelessly threw both it and a chilled lemon onto the table. "Enjoy yourself." As the rest of them tuned out Leo's breakfast, Crow passed him a penknife for the lemon.

"Once Leo's done with breakfast." Sprinkling the salmon with lemon, Leo was rolling the fish into tiny rolls and delicately inserting them into his mouth. As part of his eager charm, he wasn't waiting to finish the last one and it was causing a slight backlog. "Jack and Crow can get the Runners out from under the truck and we can get going." Making steady headway through the packet of salmon, Leo remained at the table with Yusei as the rest of the Duellists disembarked.

"Musume?" Hefting the rear wheel of Leo's Runner, Jack was edging closer to the truth as Musume and Crow carefully removed the Blackbird with exceptional care. "What did Yusei mean about riding his Duel Runner 'again'?"

"I had to ride it last night." Confounded with the problem of using her own Duel Disk or Yusei's, she ejected the default model and lobbed it back under the truck without concern for its condition. "I don't see the big deal." Scurrying back inside the truck, Crow retrieved the Disk and set in on the steps leading into the cabin.

"What I really want to know," Carefully straightening his jacket, Jack was growing unsettlingly calm. "Is who drove _my_ Runner here?" Gently dusting a slip of grime from Leo's Runner, he stared down his brother with a predator's glare.

"Are you alright?" Negotiating her way down the few stairs to the driver's seat, Akiza checked in on her newest patient. So new, in fact, that she didn't know it yet.

"Fine." Brusquely slipping past, he headed back to the sink and began chugging several glasses of water. Seeing how his left hand was never far from pressing across his stomach, Akiza followed him to where Luna was aiding Yusei around the cabin. As Obake started his daily pill regime, the hand slipped slightly and she visibly tensed up.

"I'll live." A small red stain was visible on the hoodie as he tipped his head back to better swallow a painkiller.

"You're bleeding." Hearing the words, all attention – morbid and professional – turned to the unwilling patient. "Let me have a look."

"I said, _I'm fine!_ " Slapping her hand away, Obake actually drooped against the side slightly. "There are other things you should be focussing on."

"Like if the driver faints at the wheel." With her latest cast currently struggling to stand unaided, it was clear Akiza was about to get her way. "In your current state, it wouldn't be that hard to get you to comply."

"Fine." Keeping himself steady with a trembling right hand, the left slowly reached up and undid the zip, letting the garment pool about his wrists. Taped to the lower right of his torso, the layered remains of his undershirt from the day before were held in place with layer upon layer of duct tape. A small patch of blood had formed through the cloth and stained the hoodie but nothing was seeping out now and he appeared to be in no imminent danger. What really occupied her attention was the rest of his body. No, not in that way.

Maybe the most interesting natural wound among them was the ropey scar across Yusei's belly from where a shard of glass had sliced it apart during his Shadow Duel with Kalin. From what was visible, Obake could put their combined efforts to shame. Fine lines crisscrossed in random patterns across his chest, dipping under and over large burn scars that patchworked about a third of his body. Two stabs wounds, much older than the latest addition, were a handspan apart near his stomach and heart. A thick rope pattern touched both shoulders and extended down his entire back, buckled slightly from where at least three ribs had broken and not set properly.

"My favourite," Breaking the growing silence, Obake reached up and tapped a gnarled lump on his right shoulder that passed the entire way through. Akiza recognised it as the area he would frequently grasp. "Crashed a car into some rebar on a construction site. One went right through my shoulder. Another three went through the person with a gun to my head in the passenger seat." Trying not to be sick, Luna turned away and tugged a confused Yusei with her. "Some people can tell the weather where a bone hasn't set properly, I have a scar that aches whenever I think about doing something stupid."

"What about that one?" Sickly curious, it was the wave patterns across Obake's spine that drew her attention. It looked like a heat burn but there were divots in it from where something had been pressed while the flesh was still sizzling.

"This one?" Turning, he indicated the ripples across his back. "Find a bunk with metal wire, run a current through it and you have an effective torture device." It was an old war trick cooked up decades before but still effective. Without a single point to focus on, many soldiers bit out their tongues in pain and died. "If you're quite done." Reaching for the hood, a visible twinge of pain broke through Akiza's stunned observation and kicked her medical senses into command.

"Let's get you sat down." Letting him lean heavily against the counter, she waved Luna over with the medicine box. Gently pulling away at the tape, she revealed the already congealed wound. It should easily have taken at least a week for it to reach that state. "Coagulant?" Noticing the two tiny needle marks just to the side of the wound, she came to the correct conclusion that he had taken a coagulant and local anaesthetic to cope with the wound. Rummaging through the contents, she settled for a quick fix and pulled out a medical sewing kit.

"Obviously." Being stabbed had put him in a sour mood. Being forced to be examined was putting him in a sour mood. Injecting himself with an experimental clotting agent, stolen from the SRC, that gave him a better chance of having a heart attack than an octogenarian with a life-long smoking habit had put him in a very sour mood. Taking the painkillers, vitamins and sugar pills had lifted his mood slightly. Hearing Akiza snap on a pair of gloves took away that happy edge. Watching her gently thread a needle to repeatedly stab him with a medical fashion, it drained the last of his joy.

"Don't take that tone." Her own mood was pretty angry following three injured friends and a veritable bloodbath. Taking snip from the only idiot who had treated themselves was not making it any better. "You should have at least asked me to take a look. How did you get all these?"

"Illegally moving between countries, getting caught stealing expensive items to get money to live, angering the wrong people before finding somebody who can arrange black market skin grafts." It explained the gross mismatch between most of his body and the visible bits. For a shady operation, the face and hands were at least on par with several surgeons Akiza could name. There was probably a good reason why it was illegal and she did not want to know what it was. "Since two of your friends are fighting to the death." Slammed against the window, the good doctor was so unfazed by the constant fights between Jack and Crow that she didn't even twitch as the needle slowly began sewing shut the wound properly. "I think your opinion has just been invalidated."

"It's just how they show love." Sliding the metal needle through his skin again, part of her mind was noting how the painkillers couldn't have taken effect that quickly and the night before's should have worn off. "Look, he's giving him a hug." Lifted off his feet by the neck, Crow began flailing wildly at his brother. Tying the suture off, she ignored the sound of choking coming from the marginally open window. "A nice, comfy hug." Growing tired of the fight, Musume fulfilled Akiza's constant fantasy and began tapping their heads together like two giant conkers.

"Can they still drive?" Staring down at the retching messes she had created, Leo sharply stepped back Musume scratched at sternum under the leather jacket.

"Probably." Between rounds of gasping for air, the two men heard it was more a command than a guess.

Admiring the stitching on his stomach, Obake had to lessen his snark slightly. "Thanks." Zipping his hoodie closed again, Obake tested the new limits of his mobility.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Fairly sure he was missing out on something, Yusei was literally and proverbially in the dark.

"Your brothers are fighting to the death and Akiza had to deal with a stab wound." Helping Yusei into one of the front four seats, Luna slipped into the front passenger chair and waited for the Duel Runners to slip away first.

"It's Friday then?" Hearing the roar of his Runner drive off, Yusei felt strangely disassociated as he remained in his seat. It was like a key part of his personality was leaving him behind. At least his eyesight was slowly getting better. At least three-ish colours were starting to become present in his vision and the distinction between outside and inside was getting better.

As Obake slowly followed the four Duel Runners – two of them gradually growing less weaving as time went by – it was impossible for them to know that events had already been set in motion that would send even more shockwaves through the group. This time, there would be no recovering from the fallout.

* * *

Acting as part of a unit was new to Musume. Running alone was much more familiar ground. It made for fewer headaches. Like the argument she was currently embroiled in between herself and the three men. Jack was threatening bodily harm to Crow and heavy bribes to Leo in exchange for the opportunity to lead. Crow was attempting to weasel his 'rightful position' with insidious political negotiations. As for Leo, he was torn down the middle and trying to push the newest member to take the lead.

"Why does it even matter?" Stuck behind in the truck and cut off from the conversation, Akiza and Luna were trying to interpret the wildly waving arm signals as all three tried to telekinetically tear the red Runner rider apart with their collective wills.

"How bad is it?" Able to spot the blurry outline of trees and/or sky by this time, Yusei could sense the confusion in the cabin.

"Did you want to be looped in?" Under most ordinary circumstances, only other Duellists could listen into other Duel Runners outside of a Duel. Taking every possible precaution for the event, Obake may have cannibalised the stolen remains of Duel Runner from a scrap heap until he could eavesdrop on any Runner within three square miles.

Seeing two of the Runners ahead of them veer dangerously close to one another in an effort to edge ahead, they took a unanimous vote not to try and hear the conversation. Instead, something unexpected happened. A formerly unnoticed panel above Obake's head suddenly lit up and began screeching static for several seconds.

"Breaker-breaker, you there Ghost?" Careful to hang tight to the headrest by her knees, Akiza leant down to join Luna and a slightly misdirected Yusei in staring at their driver as he tried harder than normal to avoid making any eye contact.

"I'm not going to ask." There was a definite dash of 'but I really want to know' with more than a hint of 'and you're going to tell me anyway' as the old CB radio sounded again.

"Break-breaker, say again, have you got your cans on Ghost?" Over the course of the week, Obake had gradually grown a rugged beard that he could scratch evasively as he started to crack.

"Weeelll, I may have visited a few trucks stations while we stopped for the nights." It had been a few miles refreshing walk to avoid being traced back to the track each time. Reaching up to the glowing panel, he snatched down a microphone and held it before him.

"This is Ghost, five by five." It suddenly occurred to all three that both his hands should definitely be dedicated to driving the truck at about the same time a sharp bend arrived in the road ahead. "Hold up a second." Gripping the steering wheel with only two fingers, he wrenched into a new gear. "Sorry about that, I was ten-ten in the wind."

"Heard that." Despite the colossal advancements in technology contained within the van, the radio still had that particular crackle unique to radio conversations. "Snowball here." Understanding dawned on his face and the Brit was practically bouncing in his seat with joy.

"Snowball! Haven't seen you since that choke and puke!" Whatever crazy language their driver was speaking in was lost on the group. "It was cotton-picking for sure."

"Do you have any idea what he's talking about?" Fluent in Japanese, German and English, with a smattering of other languages in the mix, whatever nonsense Obake was speaking was outside the realms of Akiza's understanding.

"None." Able to converse in just about every language under the sun and with even the most isolated of nerds, Luna was stumped by the peculiar dialect.

"Ten-four. I heard you were following that big race thingy across the belt." Minor despair flared in all three as the biggest Duelling event ever was delegated to a race.

"Currently somewhere in Oklahoma or Tennessee. We haven't seen many signs in the past few hours." Minor static filled the air for a moment as Snowball examined maps on the far side of the connection.

"Ma-ah-ah-an, you have got to be some special kind of lost." Four eyes turned to observe the sheepish radio operator.

"Is there something I can help you with or is this a social call?" Strangely masculine screams of laughter transmitted themselves across the link.

"Yeah, I've been running into some plain wrappers on the lookout for you along the west coast." All humour dropped from his face as Obake leant forward.

"Come again?" Last traces of enjoyment finally drained from his holiday, fear was quick to set in as the situation turned sour.

"Ten-six." After several seconds the voice slowly returned. "Yeah, copy that. Who did you upset this time?" Like many men, this one also believed everybody knew everything he did and started colouring from embarrassment.

"I might have ticked off a few full grown's and disturbed some wall-to-walls - about four." Instead of learning something useful, it appeared that he was fluent in trucker-talk.

"Enjoy your ten-thirty-three." More laughter continued down the line, sustained by several other voices.

"Snowball, I owe you one. Don't go feeding the bears or being a stranger. Three's and eight's, over and out." A piercing whine filled the air as the line dropped and the radio moved back into hibernation as Obake hunched his shoulders and scowled at the road.

"Who was that?" A slight hole in the road caused Akiza to bump her ear against the padded headrest as she leaned back in her seat.

"Snowball's a lovely lady I ran into at a nasty little truck stop when I needed some directions. It's a long story but she's a great gal making her way in the world." At no point in the entirety of her time at the SRC would Akiza have thought she would hear him say the word 'gal' but there it was. "I pulled a few tricks when we met and we decided to keep in contact."

"So," Luna was amazed that anybody still spoke trucker and had barely been able to follow every third word of the weird conversation. "What did she want?"

"It appears that somebody has been seen in the area, asking about me." All voices instantly fell silent. "Which is odd, considering nobody has really seen my face and nobody knows where I was heading." Uncomfortable with continuing to lie to a man who had taken a knife to try and protect her friends, Luna almost spoke up as they finally left the backroads behind. Slowing to a halt behind the quartet of Runners, the small convoy joined the I-81 and finally started picking up speed towards Annapolis.

"Maybe it's just Team Wrecker again?" Taking advantage of their narrower frames, the Runners began switching lanes faster than a con-man doing the three-card Monte as Akiza attempted to deflect the obvious implication.

"Except that Snowball specified they were 'plain wrappers' – police without the uniform." In a world run on probability, the odds of Obake being investigated by any agency – especially when he should be legally non-existent – when they knew Yliaster were hunting down Team 5D's was in the high billions. "Is there something I should know?" An arching eyebrow the only indication of any eye movement, he slowly checked around the cabin with his peripheral vision.

"Yes," Barely onto the highway, danger was quick to rear an ugly head. On the console screen usually left to Luna to operate, a small series of blips had appeared on a map overlay. "Four Duellists from Bluff City." Only a few miles to the west, any Duellist moving to intercept them mere minutes after getting onto the highway would simply drive on the parallel Route 19 and Route 11 to ambush them at the junction past Bristol.

"Is there any way to avoid them?" Gripping the edge of her headrest, Yusei was trying to will his eyes to function properly. It was slow work but he had already made vast progress that morning.

"They have a substantial lead and we probably have more traffic." Weaving around a much smaller RV, the thundering truck left a cacophony of blaring horns. "Either way, it will be close." Oblivious to the growing danger, the team out on the road ahead was still embroiled in their pointless argument.

"Because it presents a unified front." Unaware of an incipient demise, the three men were attempting to explain the ridiculous concept of having their best Duellist lead.

"But why not have the new guy lead to lull them into a false sense of security?" It was a reasonable argument. For some reason, the Y chromosome seemed to stunt the men's intellect and they were stubbornly sticking to the same idea.

"That's not the way we do it." Forcing Leo to the front, Musume was able to reach a perfect compromise where everybody was angry at her and progress was actually being made.

" _Is this thing working?_ " Screeching feedback sounded in their helmets as Luna tapped a microphone back in the truck trailing behind them.

"Luna?" Suddenly fearful that his previously innocent explanations could be used against him, Leo gained a little extra space behind him and the truck.

" _There are four Duellists leaving Bluff City, fourteen miles west._ " Acting on shared impulse, the tight formation of Runners began increasing the distance from the truck as they gained speed.

"Can that lumbering behemoth keep up with us?" Displeased with the unwarranted insult, Obake floored the accelerator, dodged a slow car transport and retook a large chunk of lost distance.

"Kindly tell your friend," Caught in the uncomfortable position to act as a relay between the driver of the truck and the unofficial leader of the Runners, Luna squirmed very slightly. "That speed is not an issue." Mounting the hard shoulder slightly, probably-amazed onlookers watched as the massive transport blurred past and began eating up the miles with gusto.

As the team rapidly drew parallel with the second iteration of Bristol – at least as bad as the first – it remained possible that they could outpace the Yliaster ambush before it was sprung. Traffic was yet to grow to troublesome levels, conditions were good and there was nothing in sight to indicate that was about to change. There was a brief moment when Team 5D's allowed themselves the opportunity to feel optimistic. More world-weary than the others, Musume prepared for disappointment and optimism had never been Obake's strongest motivator.

They were literally seconds from passing the second of four junctions to the nearby town when circumstances turned against them. Flashing up on an overhang, convenient speed limits rapidly created a veritable wall of braking vehicles. Throwing mental gratitude to whoever had installed the harnesses, three members in the truck were grateful to still be alive and the fourth was cursing his luck at not shooting through the windscreen to a quick death.

* * *

Nobody had to point out the coincidental nature as even the four Runners struggled to negotiate through the instantly crowded cars. By the time they had managed to pass the third junction, the four signals were quietly idling at the last junction with ominous intent. Literally until the traffic suddenly cut them off, Leo had been harbouring a faint hope that it could be some opportunistic Duellists just waiting for passing competitors.

"Jack and Leo, Crow and me." Sparing all the expense, Musume cut her words down to the bare minimum as they approached the final turning.

"Make sure to stick close." Annoyingly aware that Obake had no idea they were in actual danger, Yusei wished his eyes had been working this well when they set off two hours earlier. Details were still blurry but objects like cars and road markings were becoming increasingly easier to see. An expert Duellist and genius scientist, he would have put the probability of winning a Duel in his condition at an easy one in three.

There is a long-standing tradition of shadowy organisations believing that wearing black somehow makes them seem dangerous and sinister. When four pitch-black Duel Runners suddenly burst out in ambush, it was less important that they all be dressed in identical shades of charcoal grey – possibly because four Duel Runners and uniforms in black were too expensive – and more menacing if they actually managed to stay in formation.

"Jack?" Switching to a private channel, Crow had to swerve to avoid crashing into a careering vehicle as it struggled to pull alongside him. "If I die Duelling one of these idiots, kill me."

"It would be my pleasure." Observing two Runners almost collide with one another, Jack would have asked for a similar arrangement if he thought there was a chance of him losing.

"Signers!" Wobbling in the Runner as he threw out a challenging finger, the most stable rider was the closest possible thing they had to a leader. "We challenge you to a Tag-Team Turbo Duel!"

"Have you ever ridden a Duel Runner before?" If he could, Leo would have reached out and steadied the constantly wobbling group.

"Not really." Careering almost into Musume, only a quick boot was enough to shove away the imminent collision. "We're new at this."

"Crow?" Momentarily opening another private channel, Jack reconnected with his brother. "If one of these idiots actually kills me, kill me again."

"Stick close." Even a blind man had eyes good enough to see the danger brewing ahead of them and Yusei's eyes were nearly, almost, not quite back to normal.

(Turn 1)

 **Leo** /Jack: LP: 4000 SC:1 Hand:6/5 Field: None Graveyard: None

Agent/Agent: LP: 4000 SC:1 Hand:5/5 Field: None Graveyard: None

"So, do you actually have names?" As Leo picked through his cards, he still seemed trying to be friends with everything that moved – including the two Duellists trying to kill them. "We've just been calling you Agents so far." Two helmeted heads regarded him with suspicion. Nobody had ever encountered somebody like Leo until they met him.

"Focus on the task at hand." Barking out the order, Jack tried to evaluate their two opponents. By all rights, they seemed like pathetic newcomers to the Turbo world, not the hardy stock Yliaster had sent previously.

"I set one monster and two cards." Many people he Duelled against thought Leo deliberately aggravating or intentionally distracting. In reality, the person Leo most distracted was himself with the endless urge to be kind to everybody. "Does this mean I don't get a turn for, like, another three?" Back inside the driving cockpit, similar questions were being asked.

"How does a Tag-Team Duel work?" All other vehicles politely giving a wide berth to the two burgeoning Duels, Obake was creeping as close as he could without risking a hologram inside the actual cabin at the bequest of his friends.

"Two players share a field and graveyard but maintain their own hands and Decks." Leaning into the gap between their seats to get a better view through the windscreen, Akiza and Yusei were practically touching as the Duels unfolded. "In a Tag Turbo Duel, they also share one set of Speed Counters." So even if one person played a good strategy, it could severely hurt anything their partner had planned. None of the four Duellists had ever played together and Musume was the perfect example of a wild card. In this Duel, Yliaster would have a strong advantage. Theoretically. One of their Runners was moving so much from side-to-side the rider could probably become sea-sick from the repeated motion.

(Turn 1)

 **Musume** /Crow: LP: 4000 SC:1 Hand:6/5 Field: None Graveyard: None

Agent/Agent: LP: 4000 SC:1 Hand:5/5 Field: None Graveyard: None

"Keep your feathers ruffled," Playing to her strengths, she was quick to slam a pair of powerful cards into the bottom row. "Things are going to get ugly." She could feel it, bashing against her in chaotic harmony. There more than just one Shadow Card present and with the identical Agents constantly circling, she couldn't keep track of who was who. Wearing uniform outfits and riding identical Runners suddenly didn't seem so ridiculous. "I summon Eccentric Boy (L3/800 ATK/200 DEF)!" A smug child with a face only a mother could love, Musume admired the card more because of the significance of the wings. They were a deep, ruby red and reminded her of an important part of her family's heritage. "With the help of a monster in my hand, I can perform a Synchro summon at the cost of the Synchro monster being unable to use its ability." Discarding a Level 2 Magical Plant Mandragola, the familiar green rings and white stars enveloped the air above her. "Appear, Accel Synchron!"

If Formula Synchron was a baby monster, there was no doubt was the big sibling. Standing ten feet tall and based around a streamlined red Runner, Accel Synchron quietly revved alongside Musume with a strong 2100 DEF protecting her from any attack.

"Wow, that was really something." Few Duellists could pull off a Synchron on their first turn and the name was clue enough to what she was capable of. At that moment, Crow was happy he had been partnered with her instead of Jack. "Do you have one of those to spare?"

"For you?" Weaving around and around the new monster, she slipped back and forth across the field in a dizzying series of circles. "Not a chance."

(Turn 2)

 **Leo** /Jack: LP: 4000 SC:2 Hand:3/5 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

 **Agent** /Agent: LP: 4000 SC:2 Hand:6/5 Field: None Graveyard: None

"Leo!" Already regretting his choice of companion – although Crow and/or Musume would probably have him driving straight into the first Shadow Card that came his way – Jack had to shout instructions to keep his young companion focussed.

"Sorry, sorry." Forcing himself to stop trying to talk down the obviously last-ditch efforts of Yliaster to send a team, Leo watched as a wobbly arm trembled to lay a single card.

"I set one card in defence mode." Even that simple task seemed too much and the trembling man clung to the Runner like his life depended on it. Moving at such speeds, even the slightest shift in balance could spell a death sentence and nobody on the Yliaster team seemed able to do much more than quiver. "Two face-down cards and end my turn." Barely able to shuffle the cards into place, he concentrated more on not dying.

"Have any of you actually ridden a Duel Runner before?" Unable to help his good nature, Leo was genuinely concerned for their opponents. If not for their health than for the danger they presented if any of them fell in the road.

"Joe did once." A trembling arm rose up from one of the other Runners foolishly trying to take on the world reigning Turbo Duel Champion and waved. "Broke his clavicle. We're more into research anyway." Sure enough, there seemed to be a tiny divot in the wave. Possibly from where Joe's arm hadn't healed properly.

(Turn 2)

 **Musume** /Crow: LP: 4000 SC:2 Hand:2/5 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster

 **Agent** /Agent: LP: 4000 SC:2 Hand:6/5 Field: None Graveyard: None

"Hang on," Darting around a slow blue car, Crow almost expected it to bounce of the truck behind them. "So you're just a bunch of nerds? Wasn't there some ultra-powerful super-Duellist available?" Similar thoughts were going through the minds of his teammates. In their past encounters, Yliaster had used everything from notoriously difficult Anti-Decks to an army of Duel Bots. Dealing with a handful of nerds was a bigger kick in the teeth than actually being kicked in the teeth.

"She was deployed in Cincinnati." Clinging tightly to the shuddering frame, the Agent actually wet his pants as he drove over a small patch of loose gravel under a bridge. Even the meandering paths of his colleagues quickly moved out of the slipstream.

"Sorry, what?" Waiting for the turn to be taken, Crow actually felt two miles whisper by as he processed the news. It was difficult to comprehend. There had been a killer Duellist but they happened to be in the wrong city? Was it possible that somebody, somewhere was sitting at a computer terminal and saying 'whoops'?

"Nobody expected you to come this far south!" Wailing slightly, the scent of ammonia was thankfully stolen away by the wind as they passed over a tiny bump in the road. "We last knew you were in a town called Sparta!" Nobody had called attention to it before but suddenly Musume was laughing through their headsets as she realised why Crow had chosen that particular town to stop outside. Barely a few score Spartans had once held off an entire Persian army. Maybe he had been hoping some luck would rub off on the team.

"Take that!" Another dribbled of urine eked from his bladder as the Agent placed three cards down and set a monster. Finally breaking the pattern, the turn cycled back around as they all switched focus back to the other Duel.

(Turn 3)

Leo/ **Jack** : LP: 4000 SC:3 Hand:3/6 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

 **Agent** /Agent: LP: 4000 SC:3 Hand:3/5 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

"Are Tag Turbo Duels always this complicated?" Noticing the splatter of some currently unknown liquid on his windscreen, Obake calmly washed it away as he headed under an innocent overpass.

"No, we just all want to know what's going on." Careful to skip around the truth, Yusei placed a controlling hand on Luna's shoulder to stop her interrupting. "That's why both Duels are taking turns. It might look confusing," Steadying himself as they dodged another slow car, the holograms were making it constantly more difficult to see the road ahead. "But they just want to see how each other are doing."

"I think it's about time we cranked this up a notch." Taking the backseat had been a gallant gesture on his part but Jack didn't plan on doing it ever again. Too many turns had gone past without his input and it was long past time he did something. Checking the monster on his shared field, Jack observed his options. Everything had to be done in the right order or it would all fall apart. "I summon Top Runner (L4/1100 ATK/800 DEF)!" Sprinting from behind the distant truck, a sleek robotic form quickly set pace beside them with a heavy gold medal thumping away on its chest. "But don't look for long because I'm flip summoning Morphtronic Radion (L4/1000 ATK/900 DEF)!" As the machine assembled itself, he grudgingly agreed that it had been a smart move. While in defence position, Radion would receive an extra 900 DEF, easily making itself a sturdy line.

"Isn't this a bit premature?" Already bracing themselves against various solid surfaces, Obake projected a stupefied air at his passengers' reactions. Although they might stir up a big of wind now and then, the monsters were still just simple holograms. Weren't they? "I bet he's just worried that Musume will show him up." With a woman's intuition, Akiza had hit the nail perfectly on the head.

"Bear witness to the overwhelming inferno of power and might, forged from machine and flame." Air rushed forward, creating a sort of null space around the group as Top Runner Tuned together with Radion. "Shake the heavens, Red Dragon Archfiend!" Exploding outwards in a billow of ash and smoke, the most recognisable monster of the time roared into the skies. "Strike down his monster with Absolute Powerforce!" Drawing back one scaled fist, the very air ignited as it drove straight through the card and into the road. Leaves whistled off the trees and one ambitiously planted pine tree quickly lost all needles. Seven runners, one truck and a passing sports car struggled to maintain a straight line as the shockwaves threatened to blow them clear of the road.

"Meep!" As the shattered remains of a porcelain jar faded from the field, a hissing green cobra curled defensively around the Duellist. Who then tried to knock the hologram off.

"Cobra Jar." Explained Leo, as the Agent risked falling into the road in attempts to shift the collection of photons. "A Level 2 monster. Flip effect: Special Summon a Level 3 'Poisonous Snake Token' with 1200 ATK and DEF. When destroyed by battle, it takes 500 Life Points from the opponent." As a Token monster, it would be unaffected by Red Dragon Archfiend's ability. But there was a more pressing concern.

"Did you actually eat a database?" Not entirely sure if it was even possible, Jack broke the question just in case. A lot of Duellists knew a lot of cards yet Leo was bordering on omnipotent levels.

"What? You're the one who said it was always best to know everything you could in advance." Technically true. Actually, Jack had said it was best to be prepared for anything in an interview he had given ten years ago. Leo had taken the words to heart after entering the circuits and spent several months absorbing all possible Duel Monsters knowledge. There were probably facts locked away inside his head that designers didn't know about.

"By removing two Speed Counters, I activate Speed Spell – Sonic Buster." Roaring in triumph at finally being able to do some damage, the Speed Spell let inflicted half of Red Dragon Archfiend's ATK to the other team with a blast of scorching fire. Unable to do anything else, Jack set a card and passed the baton.

(Turn 3)

Musume/ **Crow** : LP: 4000 SC:3 Hand:3/6 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster

 **Agent** /Agent: LP: 4000 SC:3 Hand:2/5 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

"Okay," Finally getting around to Crow's turn, the group was hoping to see some actual action. "Let's get cracking." Everything so far had been too docile. Even Red Dragon Archfiend had been stopped from dealing proper damage and they all wanted bloodshed. At least, that was the opinion of the good guys and Yliaster proper. The patsy research team probably just wanted to be far away from all the trouble.

A quick glance at the cards Musume had left him proved fruitful. Speed Spell – Mind Control, great for taking an opponent's monster, useless if it was set. Urgent Tuning, just in case he wanted to go about things from a different angle. Not bad.

"From my hand, I summon Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame (L4/1800 ATK/1200 DEF)!" With taloned hunting legs and two enhanced sets of claws, the magnificent blue beak screamed an unseen advantage. "And because I have another Blackwing monster on the field, I can special summon Blackwing – Bora the Spear (L4 /1700 ATK/800 DEF)." Carrying that heavy weapon, one of Crow's most versatile monsters joined the fight. "Even when Bora attacks a monster in defence position, it still inflicts damage to my opponent. Let's see what's behind door number one!" Stabbing through the card, the hidden contestant revealed itself.

"Th-thanks to the effect of my Fortress Warrior(L2/600 ATK/1200 DEF)," Trying to wipe his brow, the Agent squeaked as he was realised he was steering with only one hand. "It can't be destroyed in battle once a turn." Even though it also couldn't take _Battle_ damage, the effect of Bora the Spear meant Crow was actually inflicting _Piercing_ damage. A legal distinction but still enough to get the job done.

"You lousy..." Biting his tongue, Jack forced himself to count to five before continuing. "That's Yusei's card."

"It's okay, anybody can use that card. Well," Sending in Shura the Blue Flame, Crow amended the list slightly. "Anyone except this guy. Oh, and because Shura destroyed a monster, I can Special summon Blackwing – Kochi the Daybreak (L4/700 ATK/1500 DEF)." Not to be shown up, the plumed monster was barely on the field long enough for its status as a Tuner to be put to use. "Let two Blackwings beat as one to soar to even greater heights. Spread your wings, Black-Winged Dragon!" A shattering howl split the air as several sets of wings unfolded themselves about the monster.

"It's been a while." Looking up at the hovering creature, Musume smiled beneath her mask. Of all the Signer Dragons, this was easily her favourite. "Hey, Crow." Edging close behind his Runner, she could hear the enjoyment and laughter in her own voice. It was a rare occurrence. "You know it's technically a wyrm, don't you?"

"Ha, I knew it wasn't a real dragon!" Throwing down an old gauntlet, Jack picked up the technicality for new ammunition.

"I doubt you could even spell wyrm!" Descending into another argument, Crow shoved in two Trap cards and ended his turn.

(Turn 4)

Leo/ **Jack** : LP: 4000 SC:2 Hand:3/3 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap

Agent/ **Agent** : LP: 2500 SC:4 Hand:3/6 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster

"I activate Speed Spell – Half Seize." Forcing Red Dragon Archfiend closer to the ground, the Agent claimed half its ATK for their Life Points, bringing them full circle. "I tribute my Snake Token to summon Mist Archfiend(L5/2400 ATK/0 DEF)." Coalescing from the scattered clouds above, a literal red mist beneath a black exoskeleton quickly formed on the other field. Leaving behind no vapour to draw on, it was clear this monster had more substance than a mere hologram. A Shadow Card. "Um, attack?" As green as his monster was red, the Duellist seemed lax on how to make a move as his monster swooped across the field and enveloped the dragon with a scream.

"Trap card, activate!" Below and flashes appeared from within the crowd for several tense moments. As the mist drifted away, it was clear that it was just the remains of the Yliaster monster. "Overgain gives one monster 1000 ATK extra but stops them from attacking for one turn." Already expecting a weakening move, Jack had planted the trap just moments before. "Looks like you're not going to be _mist_." In her enjoyment at seeing Black-Winged Dragon again, Musume had been too distracted from feeling the imminent use of a Shadow Card and was cursing herself. Then she heard the lame joke and judged it to be punishment enough.

"Oh yeah?" Missing the bantery pun completely, the Agent just continued to plough on ahead. "Thanks to Speed Spell – Tremendous Fire, I can inflict 1000 Damage to your Life Points." Too quick for Leo to point out the obvious, a backlash struck against the Agent, taking away 500 Life Points of his own. "This isn't going well."

"No." Angry now that they had played a Shadow Card, Leo stopped trying to connect with the despicable people. "It's not."

(Turn 4)

Musume/ **Crow** : LP: 4000 SC:3 Hand:3/1 Field: 3 Monster, 4 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 4 Monster

Agent/ **Agent** : LP: 3500 SC:4 Hand:2/6 Field: 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster

"Darkness unleashed, fall into the grave eternal," Recognising the proper pedantic posturing that preceded a Shadow Card, both Duels tensed in anticipation. "I activate the effect of Hellhound!" Ebbing darkness began dripping from above and sloughing from the suddenly perfectly stable Duel Runner. "By discarding this monster and sacrificing my turn, I can destroy a Synchro monster on the opponent's side of the field." A powerful effect but at a ridiculous cost. There was more to this card, there had to be. "And – when used in a Tag Duel – the owner of the card is removed from the game for as long as the monster is in the graveyard." Recognising the danger, Musume braced herself as the grime began settling about her Accel Synchron and dribbling towards her borrowed Duel Runner. "Of course, this is a Shadow Card. Leaving the game is a bit more permanent than you think." Nobody ever really welcomed the end. There was always a tiny fraction of time where the life flashes before the eyes and good bits shine through. By the time that happens, it's generally too late to do anything. No, Musume didn't welcome death but she was ready for it to come.

"Do me a favour," Knocking Musume to one side, Crow activated a face-down card left behind from his turn. In the panic, they had forgotten he was still in control of their half the field. "Take care of them for me." He might not be as grandiose as his brothers but Crow Hogan was definitely a hero.

"What?" Above them, Black-Winged Dragon gently enveloped her monster, covering its wings in darkness and staining itself a deeper black as the colour began to reflect on its owner.

"Sorry about the loan, Yusei." Recognising the card, Yusei didn't even have to check his Deck to know where Crow had obtained it had come from. Skill Twist, a trap card that allowed the switching of a monster's effect to another viable target. "Looks like I'll just have to owe you." Sludge joining at the top of his helmet and covering his face, the darkness flattened like an oil slick on the road and then was just... gone.

It was inconceivable. One minute, Crow had been riding just ahead of them and seemed on the verge of winning his Duel with Musume. Then the darkness had simply engulfed him and left nothing behind. "Whoa!" Their horror was marred by the casual excitement of Obake. In their hurry to engage the danger, they had completely forgotten the driver of the truck. "Where did he go?" Lacking their understanding of the powers of Shadows, he seemed to still be under the impression that this was simply a regular Duel.

Clutching at the edges of the passenger seat, Luna was the first to return to her senses and spot the biggest weakness in the deadly battle – Obake's ignorance. Turning to him, she tried to stop the tears spilling from her eyes. "Obake." Hearing the fear in her voice, any possible enjoyment slipped from the situation. "Everything about Yliaster is true. That's a Shadow Duel going on outside." Silence took over inside the cabin. For six years, Yusei had told the man who thought of him as a friend that the information he had stolen had belonged to a crazy organisation. Learning it was true was enough to push him to the brink of sanity.

"It's _all_ true?" Outside, Jack and Leo began to realise just how much trouble they were all in now that they were a man down. "Shadows and Signers? Dragons and Dark Duels? All of it?" Nodding once, Luna watched how tight his hands became on the steering wheel. "And everybody knew but nobody told me?" Knuckles popped and cracked as the fingers continued to tighten.

Reaching into his pocket, one pale hand morosely withdrew a thin strip of fabric. Sunglasses barely took the edge off the glare and cut off his peripheral vision, leaving him feeling half-blind but attracted far less attention than wearing a blindfold the entire time. Throwing the glasses out of the window and tying the cloth back over his face, the tiny sliver of normal life he had attempted to live was cut drastically short.

"Tell your people to get ready." No longer the smiling face that had reached out a kind hand to everybody in the competition, the driver was simply Obake of the SRC. Bereft of emotions, robotic in outlook. Tapping out commands on the panel, everything he could do was so much faster now that he could see it properly. "Take this." Physically pulling the steering wheel from the dashboard, an extra set of peddles dropped from nowhere into Luna's footwell. "Try not to crash." Slamming the instrument into a freshly opened slot on her side, Obake dragged a chunky tablet from down the side of his chair before hustling up the small flight of stairs. At the top was a barely visible trapdoor that led into the main hold. Dropping through, he left the crying onlookers to get revenge for their friend.

(Turn 5)

 **Leo** /Jack: LP: 3000 SC:2 Hand:4/3 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap

Agent/ **Agent** : LP: 3500 SC:4 Hand:3/3 Field: 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

It was technically Leo's turn but he couldn't move. Fighting for his life meant nothing, fighting for his friends meant everything. Seeing one of them so close fall when he could do nothing had shaken him to the core. There wasn't even room for horror beneath his guilt.

"Shape up." Losing what little patience he had cultivated over the years, only the fact they were moving spared the Agents from certain death. If they had all been on the ground, lives would have ended in quick succession. "We can't afford to waste time." Slowly coming around to Jack's way of thinking, Leo looked at the Agent with a burning gaze.

"I activate Morphtronic Impact Return." Sliding his hand past the freshly drawn Gadget Hauler to the Morphtronic Cameran slightly to its left, he returned it to his Deck. There was a chance that the face-down card on the other side of the field could redirect an attack back at them and he didn't want the opportunity for another lost member. "By returning one Morphtronic monster from my hand to my Deck, I can return up to two Spell or Traps from your side of the field to yours." Suddenly naked without any defence, the Agent tried to squeeze between two cars up ahead that simply moved to one side of the road and left him alone. "Red Dragon Archfiend." Wishing for one dreadful moment that he had the power to make them hurt as much as Yliaster had just hurt his family, Leo sent the monster closing in for the kill.

(Turn 4)

 **Musume** /Crow: LP: 4000 SC:3 Hand:3/1 Field: 2 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 4 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap

Agent/ **Agent** : LP: 3500 SC:4 Hand:2/6 Field: 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster

" _Chiki allqu! Aka uma! Uspha q'uruta!_ " Screaming in an ancient dialect, Musume was beside herself with anger and rage. She had long proven that there was really only one place to be when she was angry – very far away. It took every ounce of control she had to stop swearing and marshal her thoughts. "Luna?" Grating her teeth, she struggled to think of the safety of anybody else on the road.

"Yes?" Wiping her eyes every few seconds, the tearful young woman was struggling to drive the truck.

"Find me a straight bit of road with no people." Unbuckling her five-point harness, Akiza stumbled to operate the tablet embedded in the central console as Luna focused on driving. They had just missed a turning for the I-77, far less populated than the I-81 the group was still travelling on. "I'm going to rip these _rumi sunqu_ apart." Her tone – if not the words themselves – made the sentiment perfectly clear and nobody was inclined to argue.

"There's," Swallowing through her anger, Akiza forced herself not to take control of the vehicle and run down the people who had just torn her small family apart. "There's a stretch of road off the junction in six miles." Six miles, four minutes travel. One member still gone. Three Duellists still in grave danger.

"Got it." Tracking back through the hole in the floor, Obake had been banged around pretty hard during his labours. A welt was raising across left eyebrow and there was blood coming from a cut behind his ear. Dragging several trailing wires with him, he fell back into his seat and rescued Luna from the impossible task of having to drive through her grief. Extracting a roll of masking tape from his pocket, a few crude strokes secured the handheld computer to the front of the steering wheel. If they somehow set off the airbags, it would be a veritable claymore to the face. "Does anybody have a plan?" Crunching gears with a freshly bruised hand, he gained another notch on the dials and another few feet to the remaining Duellists.

"Take the next junction." Hollow without his brother, Yusei could feel everything important he had worked hard for slip away between his fingertips. Thankful for the six adaptable wheels, Obake was able to take the corner with the minimum amount of smoke and the maximum amount of speed, keeping within range of the fast-paced Duel.

Out on the road, Musume had memorised what she needed of the map. A mile from the junction to the straight, no remaining settlements since the last economic disaster had wiped them all out. Forty seconds to make her move.

"I activate Speed Spell – Double Summon." Able to summon two monsters this turn, Musume would have to be careful about running out of room on her field. "From my hand, I summon Twilight Rose Knight (L3/1000 ATK/1000 DEF) and Violet Witch (L4/1100 ATK/1200 DEF)." Back in the cabin, even through her grief, the three Duellists managed to lift their heads at the combination. It wasn't one of Musume's but a play straight from Akiza's own Deck. "Let the knowledge be shared and empower the noble," Dissolving into stars, the tiny knight became a trio of bands that quickly ensnared the witch and gave her an upgrade. "Dispense your magic, Arcanite Magician (L7/400 ATK/1800 DEF)." Wearing a pointed purple robe that matched flawlessly against her skin, an overpowering mage appeared on Musume's side of the field. Bolstered by an effect and two gratuity Spell Counters, it quickly moved from 400 ATK to 2400 ATK, the orb in an antique staff glowing brighter as it did.

"Where did she get those cards from?" Starting to number in shock, Akiza could find it in herself to ask the question as Musume swiftly move into the straight section of the road and the next phase of her plan. One-point-one more miles, forty-three more seconds. Feeling the surge in the Duel Runner beneath her, Musume bared her teeth in a predatory snarl.

"You wanted a Shadow Duel?" Revving the engine, she pulled off a long wheelie as the power beneath her continued to grow. "Reap what you sowed!" Plunging down, she powered ahead as her monsters dissolved into blasts of bloody light. "Destiny rewrites as bloodlines converge, the storm bringer descends once more!" An envelope of crimson engulfed her and she blasted ahead, momentarily lifting from the ground on trails of blazing flame that the others swerved to avoid. Bloody Synchro rings cut open a path to let the Accel Slipstream swallow her whole.

"Where did she go?" Clearly, nobody had told the three researchers and what they now knew to be a trained Duellist about the Accel Slipstream.

"Final Form Accel Synchro!" Space rippled and warped as Musume reappeared, blasting past the truck with all the subtlety and power of a nuclear missile. "Grace us with your presence, Crimson Blaze Dragon!" Trailing behind her came the shining, twisting form that ruled all their lives. Spreading both wings far enough to turn the light bloody, an ear-splitting roar reverberated through the air, audible as far Roanoke to the far north-east and felt across the entire world to those that knew of the reality beneath what all could see.

Taking advantage of the shock about her, Musume had less than fifteen seconds before she ran out of straight road and was forced to slow down again. "I activate the special ability of Crimson Blaze Dragon." Reaching down one talon, the very tip touched the graveyard section of her Duel Disk. "By returning it to the Extra Deck, I can Special Summon one Dragon-Type Synchro monster from the graveyard." Vanishing in a twinkle of light, the light filtered down to her wrist before springing back out in a blaze of glory. "As an... added bonus," Breathing heavily through the effort needed to manifest the creature for even a few seconds, Musume was feeling the strain as the light began to form something new. "My opponent takes damage equal to the ATK of my new monster." Outlined in red, the dragon was joined by a familiar looking shade. "And with Black-Feather Dragon back in play," Shattering through a crimson cocoon, life returned to the life of the party. "Can Crow come out to play?" Cheering sounded on all sides, almost throwing the truck clear from the road as they shook the driver's control in the jubilation. Forming a point around the swerving man, the three undefeated members of Team 5D's made it clear he wasn't going anywhere again.

"Luna," Recognising the change in circumstances, Obake picked his moment carefully. "Tell your friends to drop behind us." A deadly note in his voice put a serious damper on the joyful mood.

"Guys," Smiling with joy through her tears of grief, Luna isolated her friends in a private channel. "Obake says to drop back behind the truck. I think he's got a plan." Filtering to the outside of the road, the Yliaster Duellists probably thought they were just changing partners for the next in the suicidal Duel.

"What's going on?" Wherever he had been, it had been enough to drain Crow of all energy and disorient him with ease. Something important came to the forefront of his muddled mind. "Hey, do we really trust this guy?" Undeterred by the words, Obake switched the display on his tablet screen and tightened the control over his feelings as much as possible. There could be no distracting emotions for what happened next.

Acting within the same second, all four Duellists engaged their brakes and shot back behind the massive transport. As they were approaching a corner, there was no way for the Yliaster Duellists to mimic the manoeuvrer without risking skidding off the tarmac.

"Why not?" Stroking the top of the gear stick, Obake flipped up the top and smiled tightly at the red button that had once been the self-destruct. "I hope I wired this right." Judging by the way they didn't blow up, he had at least cut the connection to the detonator. "Ah, _yes_." Booming outside the truck, violins began humming and strumming.

"Is that _Wagner_?" Recognising the music from one of her study sessions, Yusei had to agree with the good doctor. Blasting out from heavy-duty speakers, the classical music drowned out any noises of the road beneath them.

" _Flight of the Valkyries._ " Seeing the riders begin to look over their shoulders as they approached a straight section of road, Obake checked behind the truck with the cameras on the main display to see how much room for error he had. "Luna." For all the trauma he had been through, his tone was unusually gentle. "Close your eyes."

Confused by the cheerful noise and trying to keep pace, the Agents finally attempted to fall behind the truck as they reached a brief stretch of straight road. Playing one hand across the table and gripping tight with his other, Obake threw the entire truck into a sideways drift. All six wheels along the length of the truck abruptly shifted to keep the entire truck moving along the road at this new angle. Lowering the speed of the wheels on the right, those at the back kicked in with added vigour to prevent the wind resistance flipping them into so much pancake.

One Agent managed a brief scream before crunching along the underside of the behemoth. Darting fingers across the display, Obake grimly guestimated where the bodies and Runners were falling with cold efficiency and manually adjusted the wheel speeds and power to compensate for the brief intervals whenever one left the ground. It took a matter of seconds but the crunching bones and screeching metal seemed to last an eternity. Grisly deed done, sphincters unclenched slightly as the driver pulled them back onto a straight line. Careful not to increase any damage already done, he let them gradually slow to a halt further down the road.

Slow exhalations broke the silence as Obake let out the stress building inside him. "Excuse me." Easing to uncertain feet, he stumbled towards the door at the rear of his truck and made progress onto the ground outside. After a short while, the sounds of intense vomiting could be heard.

Even after being hit with the lumbering behemoth of a truck, the only real Agent refused to dissolve into the Shadows as her colleagues did. Dulled reactions had prevented Crow from braking as sternly as the rest so he was the first to arrive at the fallen figure. "Tell me," Falling to the ground, he grabbed the figure by the lapels and pulled her in close. "How do I get somebody out of the Netherworld?" Bloody coughs echoed from beneath the cracked helmet and he recognised the voice as the Duellist who had just tried to murder one of his friends and almost killed him.

"Crow Hogan." A gloved hand reached up and grasped him tightly by the front of his shirt as the other Signers began closing in. "Listen. All your answers lie with our leader, Ataguchu. Hurry to the Martyr's Hill. You alone are worthy." Something vital inside the broken body finally stopped working and the Shadows were quick to eat away at what remained. Then the final shreds were dragged away and the cloth inside Crow's hand dissolved through his fingers.

"What did she say?" Musume had pulled up next, always wary and ready to battle against Yliaster.

"Nothing." It was the first lie that he had told her but it would not be the last. Although only minutes had passed in this world, he had spent hours wandering through the darkness. Time enough to realise that none of his friends could come to his rescue, long enough to realise that – without his Signer Mark – even the Crimson Dragon would not find him. If he wanted the answers he was seeking, they would have to come from the other side of the fight.

"Right, well." Seeing three Runners, a couple of people actually running and Yusei having managed to twist his ankle and hopping towards them as fast as was humanly possible, she utilised her entire two seconds of time alone with Crow to the fullest in the hunt for a plan. "We should probably talk."

(Game Over)

* * *

Controlling his gag reflex long enough to pull the truck into a side-road, Obake was forced to cut power to the sound system after something had broken running over the Yliaster forces. Arranging their Runners outside of the truck, every member of Team 5D's crammed themselves into the booth. Following the blatant murder of four people, the sole remaining member had poured himself three measures of vodka and got as high as lifting it before Musume snatched it from his hand. "Thanks." Lifting her mask just enough to swallow the shot, she tried to let it numb her senses as Yusei, Akiza and Luna filtered past her into the booth.

Pouring another, he tried again only for her to repeat the procedure. "You know what," Stealing the bottle from out of his hand, she chugged straight from the neck.

"I really needed that." Handing back the empty container and somehow not dead, Musume finally felt the slightest edge being taken from her anxiety. Then it came right back. "Give us some privacy." Tensing behind his blindfold and smelling of vomit, there was very nearly another incident.

As the unofficial envoy to their driver, Luna defused the situation with a small smile and tilting her head towards the door. "I have to check on the wheels." Pulling off from the wall, he almost restrained a slight wince originating from the growing bruises on his head. "It shouldn't take more than twenty minutes." Another slight twitch of her lips called for some extra examinations. "Or maybe thirty." As the person who could have once been her friend walked out through his own door, Luna fought down the feelings of guilt and betrayal she was enduring with the much larger curiosity they were all enraptured by.

"Okay, first question." Opening and closing cupboards, she looked for the explanatory aids she needed. "Where is the booze in this crate?"

Screaming various insults, curses and an incredibly accurate Copernicus quote from Jack – which drew some looks from the rest of the group – she finally found the last bottle of rice wine in the bottom drawer of the fridge.

"So." Realising they couldn't all fit around the table, Jack, Yusei and Akiza quickly shuffled out to allow the twins and Crow to relax and still interact with the conversation."Er, maybe Leo should switch with Akiza." Finding a straw, she hooked it over the neck of the bottle to create an airflow while she drank. "Right." Trying to pick a starting point, she looked around at the people in the cabin. Leaning against the sleeping pods, Yusei looked as stoic as ever. Standing resolutely behind them, Jack looked ready to actually explode. Akiza was a calming influence, that medical training kicking in. Leo and Luna were who they always were, one bundle of joy that had to be contained in the corner of the booth to lessen the fallout and one serious and reserved face. Still recovering from his brief time somewhere horrible, Crow looked ashen but unshakeable. "Okay then."

Slowly unzipping the jacket over her chest, she calmly raised the bottle to her lips and began drinking. As the ethanol slowly began working into her system, she used her right hand to pull the plain cotton up to her sternum, gently showing the bottom of her full chest. This time, silence. And not for the obvious reason.

"So," Tossing the bottle into the sink behind her, she waited for the inevitable fallout. "Questions?" Standing out against her lightly tanned skin – courtesy of a few hours shameless rest in the broiling sun – an odd shape stood out against her skin. From the correct angle, it could almost resemble an incomplete circle.

"Where did you get that?" Nobody had dared take the question from Akiza.

"Depends on your point of view. Eight years for the complete set. The base kit, twenty-six years ago or in about a year. Take your pick." She wasn't trying to be deliberately unhelpful but all three answers were true. "Been there since the day I was born, think of it that way." Pulling down the fabric again, she reached instead for the mask over her face and slowly removed it. "I told you, you should switch with Leo." Sagging slightly at the vision before her, Akiza struggled to wrap her head around what she was seeing.

Staring out at them was a very familiar face that nobody in the cabin had ever seen before. High cheekbones, a nose perfect enough for artists to weep over carving it. Ruby hair had been cut to a spiky do but was starting to grow out into soft waves. Lightly tanned skin that surrounded eyes too old for the face. Hazel eyes, just like her mother's. Just like Akiza's.

There were some differences. A harsher edge to the gaze, some slight scarring on the chin. Tighter muscles, more relaxed stance. Not in a 'I'm comfortable in my surroundings' way but more a 'I can kill three of you with a spoon and the other three with the dead bodies' way. A warrior in modern times.

"Crow's the father." That stopped them all short. Not the information – they were way beyond shock now – but that it was Yusei speaking. All eyes turned to where he was leaning as they waited for an explanation. "I heard you shouting when Team Wrecker attacked." Ignoring the stares from all sides, he coolly met her gaze.

"..." Jack got as far as opening his mouth before Musume suddenly had a knife in her hand.

"Say a joke, _Uncle Jack_." That line instantly killed all humour in a two-mile radius.

"Did it ever occur to you that telling us this from the start might have been a good idea?" Luna was careful to avoid raising her voice but a deep part of her wanted to run and scream at this injustice in the Spirit World. There was no way that Ancient Fairy Dragon could not have _not_ known.

"Sure. I rock up, shake hands and tell you I'm the bastard child of two Signers, back from the future." When she put it like that, the idea did seem a bit difficult to swallow.

"Bastard?" Still somewhat weak from the revelation, Akiza managed one word.

"There's some question about timing." Seeing the trouble it was causing, Musume quickly covered up her birthmark again. "Some say my parents were engaged, some say not. It's a bit difficult and very disgusting." Truth be told she had never questioned too closely. It was a moot point now.

"What about the time paradox?" Even though he could be announcing the end of reality, there was no power in the universe capable of suppressing Leo's excitability. All eyes turned to him, including Musume's. "Imagine if you went back in time to yesterday and killed yourself." As a child, Leo had learned from Crow with adoring eyes how to pick locks, pockets and a strong deck. Now that he was the teacher, it was almost enough joy to make him burst. "Because yesterday-you died, today-you can't go back to kill you. Because today-you didn't go back, yesterday-you doesn't die and today-you lives to go back and kill yesterday-you." It took a further three explanations before Jack could understand science and Luna could bear the grammar but eventually, the entire team were on the same track once again.

"I was actually counting on it." Waking up from a coma had been bad enough. Musume hadn't been expecting to live longer than a few weeks, a month at most. "But I'm still here." There was another reason too but she wasn't going to mention it.

"Why _are_ you here?" Not exactly the most pleased at how events had unfurled – considering the encounter with death he had just gone through – but Crow wanted to get the conversation out of the way as soon as possible.

"Because the future went wrong." Wishing she had more booze, Musume tried to curtail the tragic events of her life down to a few brief entries. "It's gory but I'm up for a brief overview if you are." Checking the fridge again for any miracle bottles of booze, she instead found a lonely boiled egg in a tub. "Blergh!" Spitting out the bite she had taken, the egg joined the bottle in the sink. "Rotten egg."

They all carefully looked at each other. This was the second time they had heard about the future going wrong. But Z-One had been a madman from decades in the future. This woman was – or claimed to be – related to not just one but two of their member and had just shown them proof – or a very good forgery – of a Mark of the Dragon.

"What do you mean 'the future went wrong'?" It was Jack who broke the silence. If they went into another apocalypse, it was best to get the information first.

"Well," Downing a pint of milk, she tried to wash the taste of mouldy egg from her mouth. "Not the _future_ future. Just your own personal little shit-storms." She had a lot looser tongue than either parent. "All in?" Waving the cartoon around the table, they tried to not think if she was able to actually eat solid foods. "It's a package deal. A real," Pulling a card from her pocket, she tried to lighten the mood. "Domino Effect?" At the rate everybody was pilfering his cards, Yusei wouldn't even have a full Deck by dinner. "Sorry about that." Sliding the card along the counter, she let him take it back.

"I'm in." If nothing else, Leo was overwhelmingly curious.

"Me too." Acting in tandem with her twin, Luna was also quick to agree.

"Why not?" Slightly nihilistic from his ordeal, Crow stopped caring and went with the flow.

"I don't care." It was enough to put a dent in his pride to know he was an uncle. Why not go the full bore?

Standing beside Yusei, Akiza was spinning so fast she couldn't point to the horizon. Since her brief time with Yusei eight years ago, there had been fewer relationships than she had fingers on hands. Hearing that she and Crow might have – in another life – had a daughter was difficult to grasp.

"I'm in." It was the scientist who spoke up first. With his life ending just on the other side of the proverbial hill, he wanted to know how events could have played out differently. Maybe, somewhere in his other history, there was a clue to his condition.

"Just," Finally setting at least one foot back on the ground, she felt her lips twitch in dark humour. "Spare the sordid details."

"Fine. But seriously, sit down." Crumpling the container between her fingers, she was starting her own heap in the sink as events were compressed down in her mind. "For about five minutes, there was the perfect weird little family. Criminal father, Psychic mother, Signer baby." There had been one picture of the event. A slumbering little babe, cradled in mother's arms. "The doctor's missed something, I don't know what. Complications is all I was ever told. By the end of the day, the Izinski family line had a break in it." And if that wasn't just the highlight of the afternoon. Finally taking the advice, Akiza slipped into the booth and propped her head up in her hands. "I was an infant, not able to be a link in the chain for when the Crimson Dragon came calling. Jack managed to go it six years alone. If you think he's grumpy now, just wait until he hasn't slept for three weeks because there's a spirit screaming in his head." It was not a pretty thought. "About ten weeks after my sixth birthday – green cake, cheap deal, lots of cake as a result – he exploded."

"Literally?" Something about the word caused Crow to smile.

"Literally." Shrugging off his death like so much dandruff, Jack listened to the rest of the tale unfold. "Of course, that left Red Nova unbound and without a guardian. So the wonder twins took the stage."

Nudging his sister in the ribs, Leo did the look that every sibling can interpret as a smug 'I told you so'. "It's not that the name was _bad_ but it was _taken_." Trying to explain the complexities of copyright law had taken the better part of two months.

"Using some weird trick she thought up on the spur of the moment and some assistance from her glamorous sidekick," Leo waved his hand in case any of them had missed the obvious. "Warrior queen here somehow managed to force a one-way ticket to the Spirit World on Snaky. It took some doing but he only managed to snack on a few dozen before getting dragged on over. That really pissed him off." Itching at the seal on her chest, she wished she still had the ability to get drunk. The reason why was still yet to be revealed. "So our serpentine friend took his own revenge before certain Spirits could get involved. He changed you, on a fundamental level. Spirits can't exist in this world and he added you to that exclusive list." It didn't escape their notice that one person was still missing from story-time.

"What about me?" It came out in a greedy context but Yusei just wanted to know about his other life – besides the one in Z-One's timeline.

"Crippled. Stuck in a world of despair." A hero in one timeline, a depression case in another and dying in the third. If it meant saving the world, Yusei would readily play the part of the martyr. But he still wanted an explanation. "Crow had a fatal illness. Probably innocuous and treatable at the start but everybody missed it. Our patron thought pumping Crow full of life was the answer and it aged him into the ground." Seated at the table, Crow certainly looked old. "He raised me the first twelve years, Martha the next five. So I brokered a deal and demanded a redo."

"Sorry?" That sounded ominous, even with the rest of the problems already listed and Crow wasn't ready for more bad news. "What deal?"

"An endgame." Stretching her back, she pulled the shirt up to reveal another stain. Not as clear as the other or as pleasant, more purple than red but somehow a similar tone.

Swearing in Swahili – learned during one of many rounds of therapy – Jack stumbled backwards in the small confines of the corridor. Putting a terrifying-two and temporal-two together, the rest of the group arrived at a frightful four.

"Seriously? Eight years without a scream in your head and you never gave it any thought?" Lowering her shirt back down, the pain that constantly throbbed in her head always spiked at the sight of Jack.

"You're walking around with the two of them _inside you?!_ " Wanting to fight the creatures was like trying to fight the weather – beyond their control. " _How?!_ "

"Child of two Signers." That wasn't quite it but there was more still coming. "Eight years ago, I engaged you each in Shadow Duels. The winner, a normal life. The loser, the burden." It had been an ulterior motive she hadn't shared but the end result had been favourable for all sides.

"So you stole our Marks?" Gone from their arms, it had seemed a miracle at the time but Yusei was growing increasingly angry. In the only other two timelines he knew, he had been alive and wearing a Mark on his arm. Maybe taking it away had irrecoverably broken him.

"Yeah, I mentioned Crow raised me?" Smiling slightly, she winked at the slowly recovering man. "Cracking locks at four, taking supernatural powers at sweet sixteen. I had hoped that altering history enough would retroactively remove all three of us at the same time." The more she talked, the more was uncovered. Her dependence on the time paradox erasing her to take out both sides of the war at the same time and set humanity free from the cycle.

"And what's to stop you following Roman's path to darkness?" Struggling to follow the logic, Jack had the lesser man's ability to find holes higher thinkers couldn't.

"This." Again, a silver knife from nowhere. "Semi-sentient nanotechnology. Construction and programming were easy. Seven thousand rounds of 'Crimson Dragon or Red Nova' to get a baseline and now I physically can't make a choice."It took a seriously twisted mind to think that sort of thing up. Growing up amidst so much tragedy had given Musume just the perfect mind to rewrite history, stabilise an entropic criminal city, steal several supernatural sigils and then attempt to erase herself (and them) from existence, all with the added backup of several million tiny robots floating through her brain. "Only downside, the nanotechnology ended up replacing my immune system." It was a problem with long-term use. Eventually, the nervous system identified it as bacteria and removed them all or the nanotechnology severely weakened the immune system. "Works a lot better. Heals me a lot faster, prevents the end of the world, keeps me constantly sober – the fun stuff."

"What about Yliaster?" It was the one part of the puzzle left. Signers, spirits and the constantly controlling organisation. But for the first time since she had started sharing, Musume looked evasive and squirrely.

"I knew where one of their databases would be and introduced a virus. It should have totally encrypted their files." A single spark of sad realisation made itself in Yusei's mind. "They could have eventually unlocked them again but it would have taken a few years at least. Long enough to start falling apart. I don't know how they're still this powerful."

For a long time, nobody spoke. They had thought this nightmare over and now it was back from the future to bite them in the rear. Of course, it had only been over because their latest addition had taken all the burdens upon herself. "Does anybody else have any deep, dark secrets they want to share?" On any other day, they would have stayed quiet. But Musume had just unveiled every dirty detail of her past, complete with suicide plan. It was time they all opened up a bit more to each other.

"I'm bisexual?" It was neither deep nor dark or even secret but Musume appreciated Leo's input all the same.

"I sometimes go to the Spirit World just to relax." Using an innate gift for interdimensional travel for her own relaxation was hardly a crime but it haunted Luna some nights.

"When I was taken," Starting small, Crow tried to wind up to the big reveal. "It wasn't just a few minutes." It was all he could get out but made intense connections with the rest of them.

"Degenerative neurological condition," Outclassing all but Musume, Yusei dropped his own bombshell. "By this time next year, I probably won't be here." He deliberately avoided the word 'alive'. As they all started reacting to the news, Akiza decided that suddenly having a full-grown daughter meant she could probably dip a toe in the pond of truth.

"Back at the SRC," It all seemed so far away now, a normal life she could to play in. "There's an entire team working on it – myself included."

"What do you mean 'team'?" Thrown by the notion of his condition spreading – and the attached budgetary concerns – Yusei boarded the accusatory bandwagon.

"Din may have recruited a few others." She had seen the crazed power of control is his eyes. A propulsion expert, a trainee nurse, one cyberneticist and two mute unidentified researchers. Maybe they could actually come up with something between them.

"I have self-control issues." Ignoring the various exclamations of disbelief, Jack chewed over the pain of humility. After only a year without the direct support of his family, Jack had finally snapped at the wrong person and thrown a punch. "A member of my personal crew is a therapist. Anger management, seven years in." United under the freeing pressure of truth, they spent a comfortable silence together in the quiet nowhere.

* * *

"We should probably get back on the road." They had wasted an hour making no progress closer to the finish line. Instead, they had managed to uncover several layers of lies and reveal the worst truths any of them could fear to find. "I'll get Obake back." Walking out of the door, he resisted the urge to slam it in frustration. Breathing through the changes in his life, Yusei struggled to adjust to the new depths of his friends.

Trees thickly covered all sides of the road in varying shades of green. Kneeling a short distance into the treeline, Obake was in the centre of a disturbed circle of leaves and broken branches. It appeared he had taken the fight to nature and lost. "You lied to me." Staring at his knees, he aimed his words with the intention of hurting. "For six years, you lied to and used me. Why?"

"Honestly?" Coming to a stop behind the broken man, Yusei finally told the full truth he had been hiding for half a decade. "I just wanted the fighting to stop." Even as his companion looked down, Yusei looked up to the bright sky. "If they were willing to let even one person live, why not two? Or three?"

"So I spent six years as an unwitting hostage." Finally stumbling to his feet, blood dripped between Obake's knuckles from where he had punched a tree. "Because you wanted me on display." Whirling around, he physically picked Yusei up by the lapels with a strength that surprised the older man. At that moment, it was possible Yusei could easily have lost a fight against his attacker. "Look at me!" A dry quip at the eye covering went unsaid as he struggled a few inches from the floor. "I've lost three toes, an earlobe, several teeth and I can't even go outside with a damn mask on!" After the first six teeth were removed, Obake hunted down somebody to forge and implant fakes. They looked real but cost a lot more.

"If you were in my place," Hoping that Obake was still the smart, logical man that single-handedly kept the SRC functioning, Yusei tried one last effort at peaceable negotiations. "What would you have done differently? A starving and hunted young man enters your life, babbling about a secret organisation you've been fighting for years." Finally lowered back to the floor, Obake distastefully released the fabric in his grasp. "In his hands are encrypted computer files, only a few unlocked." And now he knew the reason why they were so heavily encrypted – the pre-existing Yliaster security and Musume's more powerful addition. "Begging for help. So you give him a job, safety,"

"And the truth!" Finally admitting what he had wanted, a tear leaked out from beneath the mask. "To know his suffering wasn't for nothing, that his life wasn't some cruel joke." Yusei tried to place a comforting hand on the distraught man but it was slapped away. "Instead, I dared steal a taste of freedom and what do I find? Shadow Duels, a bloody great big dragon. You people aren't normal!" It was a cutting remark coming from a man who could almost see in the dark. "I can't even get kicked out of my own truck without Duel Runners dropping from the sky!"

"What?" Ignoring the claim to the Grayston, Yusei was more concerned with the other problem.

"Take a look yourself." Brushing past his boss, Obake resisted the urge to punch him in the face as well. "I'll take your friends as far as Annapolis. You can have the van." Striding over to the door, he grasped the handle.

Hearing the door start to squeak around, Musume crammed her mask on so fast that she didn't even check it was on straight. "Obake." Shuffling out of the booth, Luna attempted to ease one of two meltdown disasters. "Did you and Yusei talk?"

"If you can call it that." Moving over to the fridge, he coldly ignored them all in the hunted for his prized pickled egg. Realising one eye was blind, Musume tugged her mask into the correct position as he continued talking. "He's checking out the mystery Duel Runner." Anticipating the obvious question, he began looking through the shelves in case the tiny pot was hiding from him. "Just look outside." Finally detecting the faint scent of vinegar, he looked in mounting horror at the ruined remains in the sink as the Signer huddled at the small window.

In an untidy row, Jack's _Wheel of Fortune_ was parked beside Leo's who was on the other side of Yusei's red ride than the Blackbird. Standing on the far end of the Blackbird, at the end of the line was a heavy tarpaulin that shrouded the unmistakable shape of a Duel Runner. Approaching from behind was Yusei, already raising a hand to grab the material. Curiosity taking hold, the group quickly hustled outside. Even Luna was caught up in the moment, deciding to giver her pale friend the room he needed.

Beating Yusei to the prize by a matter of inches, Musume clutched at the cloth and pulled it free. "Whoa!" Her gasp of amazement was echoed by all the Duellists assembled. Even though the others crowded in, Yusei found himself backing away as memories poured into his mind. It was as if inspiration from every evil Duel Runner he had come across had been poured into the design before him. It was as long as the Giganto L that Kalin had driven as a Dark Signer with a hooked lip over the front wheel that threw him back to the Turbo Duel with Paradox. Even the twin exhausts splitting at the back reminded him of the cybernetic Duel Runner used by Primo.

Then the black figure haunting them stepped into the shadow at the far end of the truck. It didn't say anything and Yusei didn't fully turn to look but calmed slightly. So far, this person had yet to give him even the slightest feeling of fear or doubt. Even Bruno – who had become his enemy aboard Ark Cradle – had continued to help Yusei in his own way. Until the moment of a betrayal, he would be cautious but not hostile. Calmed by the observer, he was able to look at the machine through the excitement of his friends.

In the light of day, the new Duel Runner was simply beautiful. Gleaming silver, gold and crimson waves interlinked and glided along the stretched length. Though longer than many Duel Runners, it was more compact and the design could adjust to either let the rider stretch out at almost full length or sit upright with room for a passenger. Wickedly streamlined, it screamed out the need to move even sitting perfectly still as one end narrowed to a razor point and the other boasted four perfectly aligned and equidistant exhausts. There was no telling where the panels came apart or even if they did. It was sleek, elegant, beautiful and doubtless cost far more than any or all of them could hope to win from the tournament.

"Nice, isn't it?" Jack seemed unnaturally calm about the magically appearing marvel. "I was just thinking about adding it to my collection."

"Hey," Before Jack had even taken a new breath, Crow had pushed his face right up against his older brother's. "Who said it was yours? Maybe I want it!" Jumping up, Leo wrapped an arm around each pair of shoulders as he let loose his cheerful smile and pulled the two squabbling brothers apart.

"Aw, c'mon. You have great Duel Runners. Mine could really do with an upgrade." Though the older men used aggressive snarls, Leo's youthful charm and graceful smile were persistent enough to be a worthy rival.

"Two reasons why I win." Zipping her jacket back to the top, Musume smiled beneath her mask. "Firstly, I'll fight you for it. Secondly," Pulling a small square of black card, sunlight made embossed print barely visible. "I never had a Duel Runner. Maybe it's time I tried Turbo Duelling the way it was meant to be done." Passing over the tiny square, the group could just make out one word. "Ladies and Crow, meet Dilucesco." Suddenly, Yusei could understand the patterns woven into the sides of the Duel Runner – the white of the Runner was the sky, the crimson and yellow were the rising sun. _Dilucesco_ – the dawn.

 ** _Must. Shorten. Chapters. Soon. 16,000 Words. Too much._**

 ** _Also, leave a review. Bonus points if you could follow the Duels._**

 ** _Update: A previous version of this chapter contained a few notes that have since been removed. Apologies for any inconvenience._**


	9. Recovery

Reaching Annapolis had been easier than expected. With most of the Yliaster forces having been accidentally deployed in the wrong area, there had been only the occasional bought of traffic to slow any progress. Speed limitations had still flared up at frequent intervals for the first hour. After that, Obake had worked the same cursed skills that had brought him into the mess and crashed all the signals between Lexington and Baltimore. It was sloppy but efficient work. When they finally managed to negotiate down the divide between Baltimore and Washington to the small peninsula that housed Annapolis, it was immediately clearer that far more of the Duelling teams had failed than passed.

Having managed to check in with one of the various officials around the town, they had been directed to a chain hotel by the name of Westin. As a four-member group, Team 5D's had been granted a pair of twin rooms to stay in as they awaited more instruction. The first port of call had been to sleep for about twelve hours apiece. Even Yusei – who had once made it two entire weeks without rest – was feeling the effects of the week-long sprint to the finish line. With Jack and Crow taking the beds, there had been little complaint when he slumbered beside a lit lamp. Especially with Crow waking up every few hours.

Whatever that Shadow Duel had done to him had been brutal. Crow had been breaking out in sweat, hearing things, the occasional scream through each nightmare. It was still too raw to open up about but he was managing as best he could. From the scraps he had shared so far, it had been a lot longer for him than it had been for them and not a second of it anything but unpleasant. When the clock finally ticked past eight in the Saturday morning, Crow gave up on sleep and threw back the duvet.

It was quiet in the room, plain. As one of the more higher-ranked teams, the tournament had given them a better room than most. A television, lamps for each bed and a small desk tucked away in the corner. It was nice but hardly luxurious. Though the lamp in the corner had been left on, Yusei was nowhere to be seen. Crow's bed was only separated from the bathroom by a wall while Jack had somehow ended up closer to the window. Swinging his legs from the bed, he stretched and stumbled around the edge of the bed.

Flicking on the lights and extraction fans, Crow entered the tiny bathroom and splashed some water on his face. It wasn't possible for him to be in the dark right then.

 _It had been dark down there. No light but a sick, reverse darkness. Able to see only through the inverse blackness that highlighted certain areas more than others, he was lost somewhere beyond normal physics_. Something moved behind him, reflected in the mirror and Crow whirled around in panic.

"Relax." Stretching in the doorway, Jack was slow to the rude awakening his brother had accidentally caused. "I was just going to fill the kettle." For some weird cultural reason, the local Americans didn't stock their rooms with electric kettles. With the rest of his personal entourage having arrived long in advance, Jack had broken the unspoken pact of not reaching beyond their small group to have one delivered to the hotel. "Do you want some?" Perched on the edge of the bathtub, Crow looked positively haunted.

"What can you do?" It was a shorter list of what he couldn't do. Breve, long black, cortado, espresso, espresso romano (which was apparently an entirely different affair). Macchiato, chai latte, dirty chai latte, four different eyes (red, black, dead and lazy) and only the lack of whipped cream from a Vienna. After that, Jack really started getting enthusiastic.

"But all I've got with me is Blue-Eyes Mountain." Pouring a careful measure into one cup, he sifted the grains around as the kettle boiled in the bedroom. "Any idea where Yusei is?"

"Probably taking a walk." Yusei had actually found his way to the roof to watch the sunrise. It was a beautiful sight, even with the hordes of reporters desperate for a scoop camping on the other side of the road.

"I'm sure he's having a nice time." Twitching at the unpleasant occurrence of Jack uttering pleasantries, Crow smelled a rat. Actually, he smelled two very welcome cups of caffeine but the rat was implied. "And how did you sleep?"

"Are we on camera?" Both parties had been prey to some particularly inventive intrusions over the years. An unexplained switch in hotel rooms had moved Crow's room high enough that a cameraman could be lowered down to peer through his window. An internet whisper campaign had gone viral and lured Jack to a reclusive coffee shop when he was passing through Florence one time. It had been the perfect venue but for the way the tiny alley could be blocked off by a mob of reporters. Jack still refused to detail exactly how he had escaped from that one.

"Why do you think that?" Leading them back into the bedroom, Jack took the padded leather seat by the desk as Crow perched on the edge of his bed.

"You're being unusually nice." Both nostrils flared as he resisted the urge to hurl himself across the room and throttle his little brother.

"Okay, you got me there." Continuing to apply some of the finest anger management techniques known to his therapists, Jack kept his calm. "I was a bit worried about your behaviour since," There was no easy way to finish the sentence so he simply left it implied. "And I wanted to know if there was anything I could do to help." In the upcoming weeks, Crow would berate his trauma as the sole reason he let the opportunity of a lifetime slip on by.

"Just let me work my way through some things." Dragging on the bitter brew, he helped the burns and stimulants push away the nightmares. "Maybe take a break once this is all over." It had been three years since his last relaxing escape. Another one was sorely needed.

Hearing the lock disengage, the pair broke the moment as they leaned back in their respective seats. "Hey," Sneaking back into the room, Yusei was surprised by his brothers already being awake. "You're up." Seeing the cup in Crow's hand, filled with Jack's coffee, he also smelled a rat but was smart enough not to press the point.

"Where have you been?" Closing the door behind him, Yusei engaged the bolt as well, just to be safe. It wouldn't be the first time a reporter steal a hotel key and gain access to a room.

"Up on the roof." Taking Jack's bed in return for his chair, Yusei shuffled against the pillows to let them all look at one another in a triangle formation. "Watching the sunrise and answering some emails." Certain members of the SRC, city government, national government and international partners were not exactly pleased with his holiday plans. It had been a struggle not to delete half the lot and be done with it.

"How many of those left?" Jack was unnaturally patient waiting for answers but even several years of relentless therapy could only curb his natural impulses for so long.

It had been a bombshell of news but overshadowed by the nuclear device that had been Musume's unfiltered past. Even so, both brothers – including the apparent one-time father of their new friend – quickly come around to the more imminent problem. If Yusei only had so many years left to live, they would try and make the most of them. But he did not have those years.

"Maybe a year, if I'm lucky." Crossing his arms, he slouched against the headboard and forced himself not to look away from his family. "It's some sort of neurological problem. Every time I go to sleep and lose consciousness, I have a seizure. Damage to my brain is cumulative." Both his brothers could handle the more complicated details but he was keeping the talk short and to the point. "I've been working on it for a few years now but there isn't anything out there like what I have. Only one thing has even made a dent." Reaching into his pocket, he held out the small device that let him sleep.

"Brain chip? I always knew you were weirdly into computers." If Jack only knew about the little computer that could back at the SRC.

"It's a cerebral inhibitor." Pressing the small button on the side, Yusei let the lights glow for a moment. "Some friends over in Missouri sent me the design." Turning it off, he tossed it over to Crow. "After a few minor tweaks, it let me get close enough to sleep to give me an extra year or two." Done with his cursory examination, Crow threw the incredibly expensive device across the room like a discus to Jack. "It suppresses higher brain functions. Muscles keep moving but just about everything else stops."

"How do you breathe?" Ignoring the horror that Jack might not understand basic biological functions, Yusei caught the disc and slipped it into his pocket. "Or wake up?"

"There's a timer function. It's a bit dodgy though." Which was one of the reasons he had let Din access the designs. A few too many days had been lost after it failed to terminate properly. If he could somehow manage to make the minutes count, it would balance out all the ankle-bites Din had done over the years. That mess at the bar, that would always get a secret pass for being awesome. "But there's a problem I can't overcome, resilience. The more I use it, the less effective it is. Akiza found me during a seizure. She was meant to spend the night with a friend so I wasn't using it. You both know how persistent she can be." They did. When Akiza set her mind to something, it would be done. "I already had her working on the problem in case there was something I missed. She wasn't pleased to find out who her patient was."

"Why didn't you tell us?" In comparison to say, finding out their brother was dying, the deception was insignificant. In contrast to having three limbs broken at the same time? A bit worse. Not that Jack let that slip into his tone a lot.

"In eight months, I'll be taking a leave of absence from work. I was going to tell you all then." By 'leave of absence' Yusei actually planned to source out an acceptable replacement to take his role. There were only a few people qualified enough to play the part and fewer who were available. Part of him just wanted to die and leave the mess to be sorted out as a last joke.

Chance spared him from more questions as the phone in his pocket sounded. Fishing it out, Yusei read the message on the screen aloud. " _Meet in our room? Leo._ " He typed a reply aloud for his brothers to confirm. " _Be there in ten?_ "

"Twenty." Jack wouldn't dare set foot outside the room without a shower. Showering in the Grayston prototype may have taken the edge from his smell but five days near-constant riding had left them all 'fragrant'. His bathroom visit the evening before had taken a full hour before he felt comfortable in his own skin. With Akiza and Luna sharing Leo's room – with no word as to where the young man would sleep – the three men had to share the one small shower and forced themselves not to murder Jack for his lengthy incursion.

* * *

When they finally made it to the adjacent room forty minutes later – Jack's back somehow bereft of knives – the mood was not as good as could be. Leo had made a rookie mistake and tried to take a few laps in the hotel swimming pool without realising that the room didn't require any sort of guest credentials to reach and would be swarming with undercover reporters. By the time hotel security finally got the situation under control, three cameras had been smashed, a few noses broken and what could only be reported as a 'minor impalement'. After that, the women had been very clear that Leo could only leave the room with an escort.

"How does somebody get _impaled_ at a swimming pool?" There had been many bizarre and painful methods of survival in the Satellite but the three men were stumped by the vague description.

"Don't ask." Even though he had tried his best to diffuse the situation, seeing various news crews fighting over his attention had been a bizarre experience.

Their room was a carbon copy of the three brothers'. Akiza had taken the bed by the window. In the event that somebody managed to get a clear shot into the bedroom, she didn't want them to get pictures of either twin. Judging from the jumble of borrowed blankets and stolen cushions hustled under the desk, Leo had gallantly taken the floor for himself. With her hair wrapped in a towel, Luna had already filtered through the bathroom and was perched back on the bed for the conversation.

"What's the plan?" Still adjusting to the weird reality that she might be some weird pseudo-mother, Akiza was hungry for anything to distract herself with.

"For the tournament or for Yliaster?" A glare at the not-father of her not-daughter only confounded the doctor more.

"Same difference." Standing ramrod straight, Jack looked like a statue in the door-frame. "We win the tournament and stop Yliaster from owning the next King of Games – me."

"Please," Also glad of a distraction, Crow bantered on instinct. "I'd bet that Leo can beat you." Staring down the length of his nose at the young Duellist, Jack weighed to odds for himself.

"If I win, you have to do your entire next league in yellow shorts." Forcing himself to actually pay attention now that stakes were being debated, Crow quickly thought up his own ante.

"If Leo wins, you have to publicly endorse me." It was a serious bet now and they sealed it with an electric glare.

"What do we do about Obake?" It was Luna who raised the question nobody else would have considered. After leading them to Annapolis, Obake had stopped at the edge of the small city and then simply disappeared. Literally. One minute, he had been in the cockpit and the next he vanished in the twilight crowds without a word of parting.

"Who?" It wasn't just Jack that was stuck for a face but Crow and Leo as well. They had barely spoken more than a few words to the pale man and simply labelled him as 'Akiza's friend'.

"He'll be making his own way back to New Domino." Exactly how he would be doing that had not been covered. Obake didn't have a legitimate passport but had somehow evaded the gaze of Yliaster, border control and then every law enforcement across the country. Yusei had a feeling his former friend would be capable of getting away as cleanly. "With any luck, Yliaster will never know he was involved."

"Where's Musume?" Leo was quick to bring up the elephant in the room before Luna could remember the urgent warning over the CB radio.

"Probably still enjoying her Duel Runner." After a careful examination of every inch – Musume only trusting Crow to help with the machine – and the utter ignoring of the manual, she had enjoyed every second of the journey. _Dilucesco_ handled like an absolute dream and could outpace even the constantly improved _Wheel of Fortune_. When Team 5D's had securely parked their Runners in The Westin's underground parking for the night, she had still been driving about the town beneath the shining white helmet.

"Are we going to talk about what she said?" Nobody dared look at one another when Akiza broke the question.

"It _was_ the future." Talking over the physics, Yusei struggled to ignore his own plight. "By coming back, she stopped it happening. Another will replace it."

"That's it?" Leo had seen one too many science-fiction movies to let the idea go so easily.

"What else did you expect?" Angry at being cheated from his life, Yusei was unnecessarily brusque. "Maybe some events will be the same, others won't." Finally recalling that Yusei didn't have much time left to live, Leo wisely decided not to push the issue and let the conversation drop.

"We should get ready for the next stage." After almost an hour in the shower, Jack was arguably the least ready and bickering quickly broke out.

Acting at once, all their phones sounded as an announcement went live and cut the squabble short. " _Congratulations on passing Legend of Duellist Kingdom, the second stage of the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament._ " Around the world, alarms started going off. Somewhere hidden nearby, a dark figure remained unnaturally silent as it tossed a stolen phone away. It had already guessed what would come next and headed off to watch events unfold.

"Wait, I thought we were in the Legend of Duellist Kingdom?" Confused by the sudden change, Leo could sense the imminent arrival of something bigger as the tournament organisers gave pause between messages to let the information sink in.

"Really?" At registration, they hadn't been told that. Pre-registering had only spoken of 'being able to take part in the Legend of Duellist Kingdom'. "Whatever gave you that idea?" Yusei was amazed at the complexity of the competition and that was really something to behold. They had intentionally leaked the wrong name and spread just enough mystery to draw in the biggest names in Duelling. Now they were unveiling the final stage and it was as significant as the previous stage.

Elsewhere in the hotel, Musume had been quick to figure out the trick, almost as fast as her mysterious benefactor. Trinidad – trinity – tri – three. The Pegasus Trinidad Tournament, three challenges in one. Three ways that had decided the original King of Games. Puzzles, Duellist Kingdom and the third entry, adapted for modern times and complete with a subtle nod to the old Genex tournament.

" _Sixty-three teams remain in the tournament. By tomorrow evening, that number will be reduced to four._ " Another message flaring up, they hung to every word. " _Each team must participate in at least one Duel to continue through to the final round. If any single member of a team loses, their entire team is disqualified. From dawn on Monday to dusk on Tuesday, the entire city of Annapolis will take no traffic, allowing for seamless Turbo Duels._ " It had taken serious time to swing that one. Even from beyond the grave, the mastermind behind Duel Monsters had taken every precaution and arranged everything to perfection. " _Any vehicles on the road are to be treated as emergency vehicles and avoided._ " It had been the only way to allow such heavy restrictions. In event of an emergency, the citizens were still allowed to use vehicles and were guaranteed safe passage. " _No Duellist may refuse a challenge, even if they have already secured a victory. Upon defeat, you must relinquish your tournament identity card over to the victor. The first four teams to win a Duel and secure another tournament identity card will be going through to the final part of the competition and continue the journey to secure the 'King of Games' title. Only one event remains – Riding in Battle City!_ "

 _ **Like Lazarus, Jesus and that one bloke who woke up in the middle of his funeral, I have risen again! I burnt out slightly writing Monday-Friday but I'm back with a new pack of chapters. Now then,**_

 _ ***Enters Oprah mode***_

 _ **You get a chapter! You get a chapter! Two chapters for you, and you! Chapters for everybody!**_


	10. Enjo

It was the final entry to the biggest and most secretive tournament ever constructed. With uncanny insight and impossible foresight, the deceased creator of Duel Monsters had crafted an impossibly intricate competition. Every member still left was praying, planning, preparing for the penultimate stage. It was first come, first served scenario and only the best of the best had even a chance at becoming the third King of Games.

"Hold on," Having spent all Sunday preparing themselves for Riding in the Battle City, Crow only now took the opportunity to raise a question. "I thought there was only _one_ King of Games – Yugi Mutou."

"There were two." Leo had possibly eaten a Duel Monsters encyclopedia but he hadn't fully studied the history as thoroughly as Yusei. "Yugi was the first King of Games even though he spent about half his time in academia. A lot of people thought Seto Kaiba would be the second King of Games but he only made World Champion." It was strange. How he could talk about 'Yugi' but it was always 'Seto _Kaiba_ '. And though most people would gladly be World Champion, it was like being the head of religion. People respected you but they always had more reverence for the next tier up.

"So who was the second?" Jack was equally nonplussed. Studying had always been more his brothers' area than his own.

"Jaden Yuki." Barely a decade after the original model, some history books referred to him as the 'Uncrowned King'. "Jaden won a few tournaments and championships but not on the same scale as Yugi. Mostly, he helped the little guy and did a lot more work behind the scenes. Out of the blue one day, Yugi declared Jaden worthy of being the next King of Games." After their brief encounter, he had read up on his distant friends. It was at times harrowing and at others utterly joyful. "After several years doing his own thing, Jaden took up a teaching post at Duel Academy. They both had professional rivalries who could have taken the title but they never found somebody they felt could carry the mantle after them." With a start, he wondered if either had been involved in organising the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament. Their way of finding a suitable continuance to their legacy.

"Are we sure this is the best idea?" For a previously staunch defender of the plan, Jack was unsure now that theory had been perfected to practice. Especially as he tried to adjust his jacket.

"You said it yourself." Tugging the fabric straight, Yusei tried to settle on the Runner a bit more comfortably. "Nobody will see it coming."

"When I said that," Letting Leo pull him off to one side, Jack tried to find a way to argue his point without recanting his earlier position. "I was talking about Crow in a dress." There wasn't a brutal fight as Crow had already won the argument by agreeing with Jack's argument until it was too late. They also didn't all need to go out and he still needed time to adjust.

"Think of it this way," Settling onto his own mode of transport, Leo squeaked in delight slightly. "If we win, you get all the glory. If we lose, you still get to look good." It was the sort of situation that Jack liked.

"I still don't get why you have to use _my_ Runner." Trying to adjust to the different seat, Yusei was embedded firmly in the middle of mono-wheel Runner as Leo enjoyed the feel of Crow's Blackbird.

"Because if Leo goes out in mine, he'll get almost as much attention as I will in yours." Smoothing out the argument relied upon him subtly implying to Jack that Yusei thought his brother was the better Duellist. "And you already have plenty of enemies looking for _you_." Their brilliantly simple plan was to use the Wheel of Fortune and Blackbird as bait to draw in any Duellists looking to take on a big name and then crush them with different tactics. Real psychological stuff. "We want to bring out some professionals, not Yliaster. As long as they don't think I'm in the competition today, we should be okay."

"Remember." Setting a restraining hand on each Runner, Crow stopped them from moving off. "Even if you get us through to the next round, another team can still knock us out. As soon as either one of you wins a Duel, both of you get back here as fast as you can."

"But why does Yusei have to wear my jacket?" It had been a struggle to not feel like he was drowning in the fabric. Jack would normally only wear it on his Duel Runner if he was going to a prior engagement.

"Oh that," Swaddled in the fabric, he wore it like an oversized robe. "Crow just wanted to see if we could get away with it." Waving Leo out ahead of him, Yusei pulled off before Jack could fully process the notion.

"Your idea?" Standing at the bottom of the ramp, they listened to the drone of solitary engines in the empty city. "Not bad." On most other days, he would have launched the first punch. Years of therapy and Crow's near-death in the Duel meant he was willing to give a pass. "You do realise he looks ridiculous in it?"

"Of course." Smiling that smile only brothers knew, Crow looked sideways at Jack. "Why do you think I asked him to wear it?" Looking down at his brother, Jack felt a slight chill. Crow's criminal duplicity truly knew no bounds.

"Should we stick together?" Knowing the answer, Leo also remembered his place as the junior member on the team as the pair headed down the road.

"It's your choice." Riding alongside his young friend, Yusei lowered the safety blanket he had always tried to keep in place between the twins and the dangers around them. Days were left on his clock and he wanted Leo to be as ready as possible for the world after he was gone.

"Let's split up." Cruising down roads beside his mentor was a dream come true but Leo was making the smart decision. "Cover more ground, find more Duellists." Glancing at his partner, Yusei smiled and waved as he turned off down a road without warning. It was brief and light, the way that all Turbo Duellists parted ways when they had to follow different roads. But all roads are connected and he seemed unable to escape the embrace of his friends even if he had wanted to.

Phone in pocket, the console directly in front of his face lit up as Akiza called from back at the hotel. A momentary wobble as he figured out how to accept the call later and he the line was sent to his borrowed helmet.

" _Yusei?_ " Sounding mildly confused over the connection, he lowered his speed down the road to hear her properly.

"What's up?" Riding around the town in search of an opponent was helping to clear his head but there was always time for his friends.

" _I just had a strange call from Haruka._ " Pulling to a halt at a junction, Yusei debated his options. Left towards the inevitable melee of other Duellists or right towards the Naval Academy.

"Haruka?" It wasn't that he didn't remember the oft-nervous young nurse but he wouldn't have expected to be hearing from her while he was away. "What did she want?"

" _She said somebody at the Naval Academy was looking for you._ " Unfamiliar with the computer on Jack's Runner, it took several seconds for him to pull up a map. There was a small naval training station on the north coast of the town. Only a handful of actual officers, mostly recruits undergoing various levels of training on actual seas.

"How does she know even know there's an academy in Annapolis?" It wasn't difficult to run an internet search but trying to find a random building in a city on the far side of the planet usually involved some pre-existing knowledge.

" _Have you ever talked with Haruka?_ " It was not an easy task. Haruka was nice but shy as they came. She stumbled, corrected herself, apologised for nothing at all. A good person, a great nurse and a really terrible conversationalist. " _It took ten minutes just to get that much from her._ " Yusei bit his tongue to stop from dropping a caustic comment. Yliaster could have laid out their entire plan for the next three days and Haruka would barely be able to keep five minutes ahead.

"I'll check it out." A very wise human once said the most elementary and valuable statement in science, the beginning of wisdom, is 'I do not know.' Yusei was a scientist who did not know who – or what – was waiting for him at the military base but he would find out.

* * *

Each team was being especially careful entering the final stages of the tournament. A single loss would mean losing any chance of their team becoming the next Kings of Games. They were only sending out their best Duellist and trying not to get caught up in any unnecessary Duels. Not for the first time, Leo wondered why he had been selected to go out. Crow had faster summons, Jack with more powerful monsters and both far more experience than he. Probably they just wanted a break and for the slacker of the team to pull his weight. It wouldn't bother Leo if that was how they saw him. The three brothers were his heroes and he would have followed them into a burning building.

There were two ways the rest of the competitors would be taking the situation – face a strong opponent now so they wouldn't be faced later or face a weak opponent now to get through to the next round. Of course, the remaining teams had already managed to make it this far and 'weak' would be a relative term. Each and every one of them would be at least pro-level and maybe even on par with Jack and Yusei. Team 5D's had agreed simply to find an opponent, Duel them as best they could and then slip back to the hotel before another team could take away their chances at the next round.

Hearing an engine approaching from behind, Leo slowed down and checked the rear cameras to see if it was a Runner he recognised. Blasting out from one side, he swerved to avoid a collision as a familiar style of grey Runner took up his left flank. Trying to take the next road on the left, another Runner headed off the idea and joined the other two in forming a box around him.

"Nice day for it." Heart pounding and sweating palms, he examined them carefully for a way out. Yliaster would have sent their best this time around. Four pro-level Duellists intent on taking him down. Everything he had been looking for in this competition. Just with the added spice of risking his life as a fourth rider took place just ahead of him. "Hey, look!" Pulling the oldest prank in the playbook – one learned from countless deceptions by Luna – he pointed directly ahead of the group to nothing at all. Picking the slowest reactor, he dabbed the brakes and slid to the right, dipping between the narrow gap between two vehicles and shooting down a road before they could even blink.

The Blackbird wasn't just in another league to his normal Runner but an entire other planet altogether. It seemed to duck and weave at his slightest command, responding more to his thoughts than his directions. Slipping between the Yliaster Runners, he knew it was likely they were running on at least marginally inferior rides. If he could just keep on pressing his advantage, he could evade the four foes trying to chase him. Elude that group but not the other one.

Another team of charcoal grey Runners would appear in front of him, blocking the road from further progression. At this point, Yusei would do something smart, Jack would pummel straight through and Crow would leap over them with the tiny jet on the back of his Runner. Trying not to draw any extra attention, Leo slowly reached for the controls.

"Don't do that." Approaching from behind, the other quartet cut off any retreat.

"You're not Crow Hogan." Sitting at the front of the group ahead of him, one Agent spoke up as the apparent leader. Female, visibly identical to the others. Yliaster didn't really go for individuality.

"Nope. I'm Leo, the Morphtronic Man." It was his unofficial title but certainly going to make the rounds after the Pegasus Trinidad.

"Yet you ride the Blackbird. Why?" Leaning forward, Leo spread his arms out to the side passively as he slowly touched an elbow to the screen.

"To lure out dupes like you." Special systems menu, alternate riding ability. It was difficult to do but he was taking it one step at a time.

"Carry a message to him." Narrowing her eyes at the tiny arm movements, she coasted closer. "Your previous encounter was not intended to take such a course. There were strict orders that were disobeyed." Stopping some feet away, she turned her Duel Runner broadside. "At this range, that little stunt would kill me. Is that your intention?" Stopping his movements, Leo tried to think of another way out. There was a narrow alley to one side of the street. From their perspectives, neither group could see it.

"That's it? I deliver an apology and we go our separate ways?" Waving a hand at the other seven Runners, the group quickly dispersed back through the streets.

"An apology and a warning – it wasn't you that sent those traitors to the Shadows." Edging her wheels to point in the opposite direction of his, she stared out from behind a tinted visor. "So if our leader is willing to do that to loyal followers, what can pests like you expect?" With those chilling words, she raised a farewell hand. "We also have no orders regarding you. Think of it a gift to make up for the inconvenience." Driving past, she vanished into the streets behind him and left Leo just sitting in the road. He could fool himself that the trembling in his hand was from adrenaline, that the cold in his spine was the thrill of the chase but it was a lie. Leo was ready to fight Yliaster at any time but to be so blatantly outnumbered and overlooked was a shaming experience.

* * *

Parked against the wall and at risk from being shot by trigger-happy naval officers, Hunter Pace was leaning against the wall and smoking a rare cigarette. It was incredibly difficult to buy actual cigarettes but America was the land of the black market and he knew a guy. Few people could stand the smell of nicotine but he was inhaling the deathstick like it was the last one on the planet. A rare treat before the big event.

"About time you got here." Leaning away from the bricks, he raised a finger in the direction of the gate guard and ignored the warning tap on a pistol. "I'm gonna want you to pay the phone bills." Dropping the butt on the road, Hunter ground it beneath his left heel and kicked it into a storm drain.

"What phone bill?" Sliding off his Runner, Yusei tucked his helmet under one arm and smoothed back his hair. Hunter stopped for a second in surprise as he recognised the unexpected face.

"Well, first I had to call a directory in Japan." It was said as if everything was perfectly normal and he wasn't facing down one World Champion dressed as another. "Then I called the New Domino hospital who told me to call some fancy bigwig science thing." Hopefully, the SRC, unless another impressive science institute was hiding in the city. "After about ten minutes on hold, the computer managed to put me through to some angry man." Stopping a few feet away, even Hunter looked haunted over the phone from the _detailed_ conversation with Din. "After that, a nurse who promised to pass a message along to Izinski for me." Meaning Haruka. Which lead to the real question.

"And why were you trying to call Akiza?" For the first time, Hunter frowned.

"She's on your team, isn't she?" Covering his face with one gloved hand, Yusei hid behind the smell of warm cloth as he wondered how weird his luck could get.

"Not this time. She didn't qualify to compete." Catching up, Hunter became even more confused. "She's just been following the competition."

"Well, I only wanted her to send Atlas my way. Looks like I hit the lottery." He was pleased, looking Yusei up and down like a prize cut of meat.

"I would have thought you wanted Jack." They were entering the negotiating phase, carefully moving in probing conversational circles.

"Normally. But when the only Duellist to consistently beat him is fair game?" Lifting his glasses, he displayed greedy eyes. "That would be even better." Shifting back onto his Runner, he waited for his opponent to bury himself back into position. "When you're ready," Revving his engine as Yusei folded the rolls of fabric, Hunter decided to overcome his irritation with anger. "I'll take the first turn." By the time Yusei managed to get himself back into driving form, Hunter was idling in the distance with twinges of embarrassment at getting such a lead.

(Turn 1)

Hunter: LP: 4000 SC:1 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:1 Hand:5 Field: None Graveyard: None

Seeing the cards he had drawn, Hunter Pace felt a tiny twinge of familiarity as they stared up at him. Untamed driving on strange town roads left him little time to focus on it before he had to take a corner and focus on other matters. "I summon Burning Skull Head (L3/1000 ATK/800 DEF)!" Giggling manically, a grinning skull floated alongside the pair. "Three cards end my turn." Chasing Hunter through the streets, Yusei was sidelined by a blow of recognition at his hand. Something like this had happened long before when Jack Duelled Dragan but it had been a unique experience, designed by either the Crimson Dragon, Aesir of some mix of the two.

This was something different. _Possibly_ just a freak event, a billions to one chance. _Probably_ – and the irony was not lost on him about the odds of a probability on a probability – something else out there was messing with his life.

(Turn 2)

Hunter: LP: 4000 SC:2 Hand:2 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:2 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

Last time around, they had followed the same moves to the same conclusion. Maybe it would happen again, if nothing interfered. "I summon Speed Warrior (L2/900 ATK/400 DEF)." Staking alongside him, Yusei wondered if this was where Musume had taken inspiration for her Duel Skates from. "On the turn I summon Speed Warrior, I can double its attack points during the battle phase." Lengthening the stride, his machine rocketed across the road to smash the skull to pieces with one fell swoop.

"I activate Zero Guard." Sacrificing his monsters attack points to keep it on the field, Hunter took the full brunt of the attack on himself. "Because I took damage, I can activate Doom Accelerator!" Recognising the outdated card, Yusei finally let go of any hopes this was just an ongoing random event. Doom Accelerator was a trap card dating back to the first Speed World Field Spell, out of action for almost ten years. It had been replaced by an almost identical card and nobody used the original. Not unless strings were being pulled. "For every 500 Life Points you took, I gain a Speed Counter."

"Set two cards." Giving in to the inevitable, Yusei slipped a pair of Traps down as they continued through the town.

(Turn 3)

Hunter: LP: 2200 SC:6 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Spell/Trap

Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:3 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Drawing another card, Hunter felt the momentary tingle of recognition fade away as something suppressed the emotion. "I activate Speed Spell – Summon Speedster." Acting under a tampered will, he carefully selected a card from the holder on his wrist. "Appear, Skull Base!" A lowly Level 3 monster, it was from the dull design of a skeleton that had was buried to the misplaced elbows in a two-handled vase.

"Because you activated a Speed Spell," Flipping up his own trap, Yusei felt the giant wheel buck beneath him slightly and surge ahead. "Slipstream." Only able to be activated when the opponent had more Speed Counters, it would make Yusei's the same as Hunter's on the next turn. If Yusei had somebody to bet with, he would put that number at six.

"Nice trick, but I have one better." Burning up his monsters, Hunter followed the script exactly. "Sacrificing my Burning Skull Head and Skull Base, I can summon Skull Flame (L8/2600 ATK/2000 DEF)." Shrouded in flame and dressed like some high priest of an archaic religion, the monster hovered between them. "Since I tributed Skull Base, I can draw an extra card." Seeing the trap, he actually cracked a slight grin. "Skull Flame, smite his Speed Warrior." Beckoning with his claws, the monster spewed flames across the road until Speed Warrior slipped and shattered in the lava. Rocked by the damage, Yusei span out for a moment and wondered exactly how Jack managed to control the vehicle so perfectly. "For my final act, I activate the continuous Trap, Speed Booster."

During his own turn, Hunter could take 100 Life Points from Yusei for every Speed Counter he had more than his opponent. In Yusei's turn, he could cancel attacks based on the same method. Despite the danger, Yusei was starting to enjoy the Duel. It was a simple battle, between two Duellists with no ulterior motives. Maybe not the most relaxing activity but the perfect outlet for his pent-up emotions. Yusei was actually relieved to watch his Life Points drop down.

(Turn 4)

Hunter: LP: 2200 SC:7 Hand:1 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Spell/Trap

Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:4 Hand:4 Field: 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster

Getting a nice Speed Counter boost from the effect of his Slipstream trap, Yusei drew his card and didn't even have to look to check. "You got a speed boost, maybe I should get one. Trap card, Acceleration Zone!" Because Yusei had gained extra Speed Counters, Hunter could get five for himself. Noting that Hunter's Speed Counters were already maxed out, Yusei wondered if his opponent would change his tactics or even notice.

"You got a Speed Spell – Summon Speedster?" Drawing a card, he slipped it into place as he parodied Hunter's posturing. "Maybe I should get my one and a Quillbolt Hedgehog (L2/800 ATK/800 DEF) as well!" Snuffling around on the air beside him, the tiny creature had been a founding member of his Deck. Maybe it was good that it would be there in the end. "For my main summon, I chose Junk Synchron (L3/1300 ATK/500 DEF)." Revving the engine, his old primary Tuner monster joined the mix and pulled his ripcord to really amp up the power. "Thanks to its special ability, I can special summon a familiar monster from my graveyard. Welcome back, Speed Warrior." With three monsters on the field, it was time for the next step. "Take a base model of Junk Synchron and add some parts from Speed Warrior to make," Green lines, shining silver stars and a mysterious force re-enacting the Duel perfectly lead to the appearance of an old friend, punching the air in joy at being free again. "Junk Warrior (L5/2300 ATK/1300 DEF)."

"It's been a while since I've seen such a broken down monster." Baiting him into a trap, Hunter had no way of knowing that Yusei was already expecting the moves in his next turn. "Does it even have an ability?"

"Every Level 2 monster on my field plays a part and shares their Attack Points with him." Boosting from 2300 ATK to a powerful 3100, he pondered challenging the natural order. But that wasn't how it was supposed to go. "Junk Warrior, make your move." As before, Speed Booster was able to cut the attack short and bring his turn to an end after an extra set card.

(Turn 5)

Hunter: LP: 2200 SC:12 Hand:2 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Spell/Trap

Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:8 Hand:0 Field: 2 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster

"Looks like I've topped up. Speed Spell – Acceleration Draw!" Driving at top speeds, there were few corners they could still take safely and the Duel was running out of city to move about in as Hunter drew two cards. "Perfect. Speed Spell – End of the Storm!" Whirling around them, a dark wind tore apart the three monsters and steal away 300 Life Points from either controller for each monster.

"Not a bad setup. What's the punchline?" Keeping his engine in check, they were heading back towards the sea now as Yusei waited for the inevitable.

"By removing a Skull Flame from my graveyard from play, I can special summon the flaming king of the road," Shrieking from the great beyond, the fiery head appeared in the air, dissolving into a flaming inferno that unleashed a galloping centaur. "Speed King Skull Flame (L10/3000 ATK/2300 DEF)." Whatever he was meant to be seeing had to happen soon. This time last time, it had nearly been over. Hunter attack, Yusei blocked with the Scrap-Iron Scarecrow he had dropped last turn. "Fine, block my attack. But Speed King can still deal four-hundred damage to your Life Points for the Skull Flame still in my graveyard."

With only 400 Life Points left, this was the turning point for Yusei's win. He had summoned Nitro Warrior and placed his own monster on Hunter's field to secure a win. At least, he had done last time. But history is a funny thing. It always seems to be changing.

(Turn 6)

Hunter: LP: 2200 SC:12 Hand:1 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Spell/Trap

Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:9 Hand:1 Field: 2 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster

"I activate Speed Spell – Shift Down." Dropping six Speed Counters to pick up an extra two cards, Yusei froze in the explicable change of circumstances. Originally, he had special summoned Quillbolt Hedgehog using its effect, then used his set Give and Take to move Junk Synchron to Hunter's field and promote Quillbolt to Level 5. Summoning Nitro Synchron, he then tuned for Nitro Warrior, used an extra draw from the effect of Nitro Synchron and played Speed Spell – Gap in the Storm to counter Hunter's Speed Booster. But he didn't have Nitro Synchron this time around.

"What's wrong?" Sensing the hesitation, Hunter was professionally curious by events. Yusei had clearly been building towards something but it wasn't coming. "Didn't you have a big play?" One problem with the 'big play' – somebody was changing the rules.

"Junk Giant?" Scanning the text, he tried to make sense of the familiar monster he had never seen. Level 6, 2000 ATK and 2400 DEF. A special ability to be special summoned if the opponent had a monster above Level 4. Not enough to beat Hunter it could maybe buy him a turn. His other card could prove equally useful. Junk Changer, a Level 3 Tuner that could change its Level by one if he had another 'Junk' monster on the field. Together, they could easily get him a better monster.

"Because you have a Level 10 monster on your side of the field, I get to special summon this guy." Hoping reality would remain stable enough for them to finish, he slammed the card down. "Come forth, Junk Giant!" Built like a spherical golem and powered by two giant drills on the back, it was a behemoth of a monster. "For my normal summon, I choose the Level 3 Junk Changer." An angry bin that seemed to have grown blocky limbs, the two monsters seemed battle-worn and enduring.

"What, your entire Deck turn to junk?" Clearly feeling something was amiss now, Hunter was starting to break free of whatever spell he was under. But his words had a sharper effect.

It was one thing to encounter the odd card that didn't belong. Maybe it had been added without thinking, maybe somebody had slipped it in without being noticed. Yet as Yusei called up the Extra Deck on his screen, he knew it was much worse than that. His plan had been to summon back Quillbolt Hedgehog using its effect, lower Junk Change to Level 2 and synchro summon Armory Arm to boost Junk Giant's attack point to equal Speed King Skull Flame.

Armoury Arm was gone. Road Warrior, Turbo Warrior, Drill Warrior. Only Stardust Dragon was still around but the card seemed different somehow. All the other monsters had been replaced with achingly familiar cards he had never seen before. Gravity Warrior, Lightning Warrior, Scar Warrior. Flicking through them, Yusei tried to compile a strategy as best he could. There was a card that could certainly help. It was a shameful way to win but there was no telling what dangers could evolve the longer they were in this Duel.

"From my graveyard, I activate the effect of Quillbolt Hedgehog." Already without his usual Extra Deck, Yusei was relieved that his graveyard was still the same. "Now I tune the Level 3 Junk Changer with the Level 2 Quillbolt Hedgehog," Worried that it would all shift again, Yusei hurried through the moves. "To bring forth a brand new addition to my Deck. Appear, Catapult Warrior (L5/2000 ATK/1500 DEF)!" Based around the same spherical design at the centre of Junk Giant, Catapult Warrior's arms were draped in two lengthy sling-shot pads right off an aircraft carrier.

"Nice try but they both fall far short of my monster." Hunter wasn't an idiot. He knew something was afoot.

"I activate the effect of Catapult Warrior." Retracting all four limbs into itself, Junk Giant became a ball the size of a small building with two drills pointing straight forward in a menacing fashion. "By tributing a monster, I can inflict that monsters attack points as damage." Grabbing the sphere in one massive fist, Catapult Warrior loaded in onto his right launcher and took careful aim. "Diving Catapult!" Twin drills burrowed into Hunter, making him bellow in pain and take a road down towards the open ocean.

"So what?" Gaining full control of his Runner, Hunter steadied himself and prepared to destroy Yusei in his next turn. "I still have 200 Life Points left."

"And I still have a monster." Removing his launchers, the monster gravely placed them both on the floor and embedded a foot in each one. "Catapult Warrior, take him down." Edging into a stance not unlike that of a ski jumper, the force of the launch was enough to turn the azure plated creature into a missile with both hands forming the tip that broke through Speed King Skull Flame and stole away the last of Hunter's Life Points as they came to a halt beside the sea.

(Game Over)

Winner: Yusei Fudo

* * *

"That was close." Slowing to a halt on a corner called Tolly Point a short distance from a beach, Hunter stopped his bike and practically fell from his seat. "You almost had me."

"Nah, we both knew how this was going to end." With the Duel over, the mysterious force that had compelled them to redo the events was gone. "Just like last time." Back to being himself, even Hunter was able to recognise something was up. "If I don't even have a chance against you, it's going to be a long time until I can take down Atlas."

"I thought you said beating me would be better than him?" Snarling up at him, Hunter Pace seemed even angrier than before but sad too. Battling the wrong Duellist had been uplifting but he had been looking for a more deadly fight.

"What can I say? He's my white whale." Stepping off his Runner, Yusei stood over the fallen man. "Do you know what that's like? To want something so much that it always seems in your grasp but never quite?"

"Yeah," Blotting out the sun with a hand, Yusei reached down to hold out a hand. To be an inch from such life but able to only slowly die away? That was a feeling he knew intimately. "I actually do." Slapping the hand away, Hunter rose to his feet by himself and glared out at his opponent with tempered anger. "It was a good Duel."

"I never stood a chance." Peeling off his glasses, he tapped Yusei in the chest with a wire arm. "You're a good Duellist, probably going to win this competition easy." Holding out a hand, he waited for Yusei to take it before closing his grip and shaking once.

"It might sound harsh but I couldn't have done it without you." Breaking the grip, Hunter passed over his tournament identification card before pride could overcome him.

"It's Mukuro." Dropping the hand, he tightly folded his arms and resumed his glare. "Enjo Mukuro. Hunter Pace is just my professional name." Keeping his glasses in one tightly controlled fist, he stopped himself from crushing them into dust.

"Mukuro." Better enjoying the taste of the new name, Yusei smiled and nodded familiarly. "Without you and Akiza, I might not have been able to get my team through to the next round. I have you both to thank for that." History would remember those words. Walking back to sit in his Runner, Yusei toyed with the plastic slip between his fingers. Without Hunter – without Enjo – reaching out to Akiza and she to him, they might not have found a way forward in the tournament. "Hey, Enjo!" Glancing over one shoulder, the older Duellist seemed close to burning out after so many years on the circuits. "Next time you see this Runner," Tapping the magnificent tire that surrounded him, Yusei injected several notes of fight into his tone. "It's going to be because Jack Atlas will be coming to settle this debt. And he'll keep coming," Yusei would make sure of it, even if it had to be a deathbed promise. "As many times as it takes until you're both satisfied."

"If you lose this competition?" Straddling his own Runner, Mukuro raised a dismissive hand. "It just means beating Atlas will that much sweeter." Squealing around in smoke and burning tires, he slapped Yusei's hand as they both rode off in separate directions.

* * *

"Did we do it?" After a quick call to Leo to fall back to the hotel, Yusei had joined the rest of the group in the twins' room and was struggling out of the coat. For a genius with multiple physics degrees, the act of removing the piles of fabric was proving to be quite a challenge.

"Looks like it." Having enjoyed a relaxing spa trip on advice from hotel management, Crow was seated in the desk chair with green slime slathered over his face as Akiza and Luna had somehow coerced Jack into letting them paint his toenails. "Check it out." Waiving the television remote like a wand, he conjured up the tournament information that seemed to be broadcasting on every channel. Four names were proudly displayed on the screen in a bracket tournament scheme that left runner-up competitors foaming at the mouth. "They did it by who won first. Team Fury got the first kill and Team Turtle was only a few minutes behind."

"We think Yliaster helped them." Balanced on the edge of Luna's bed with a foot stretching across the gap into each of the lady's laps, he was controlling violent urges by repeatedly crushing a pillow in his fist. After this little episode, his therapists would either be getting a large pay rise or fired. Probably both. "They won too fast otherwise."

"I've heard of those guys." Having removed the blue riding jacket, Leo was watching his sister perform a pedicure with fascination. "Fury does power Decks but Turtle likes to go with defensive strategies. They're both pretty good." Hearing a knock at the door, Yusei gave up his struggle with the coat and looked through the peephole.

"Open the door." Looking beside herself with joy, Musume raised a hand and gave three very deliberate knocks. "Or do you want me to tell all the news crew which room you're staying in?" Looking around the room, the team held a mental vote that resonated through their tense silence. It could also be felt on the other side of the door. "Seriously?"

"Let her in." With his head tilted back in the chair, Crow was the picture of pampered relaxation. "Know thy enemy and all that." On the left side of the muted screen, Team Fury and Team Turtle would be facing off first to decide the Yliaster faction of the final. Their opponent was on the right.

"About time." Stopping in the open doorway, she observed how Yusei was fairly swaddled by Jack's jacket. "I am not even going to ask." Squeezing into the room, she nestled against the curtains as both teams sized one another up. Even with Enjo Mukuro actively hunting them down, Team 5D's had barely scraped into the final slot, directly below a certain Team Meian. "You cut it a bit close. I was worried you might have overslept." Seeing Crow dozing in the chair, she became even more pointedly disinterested in the room. "Is that a face mask?"

"You should really try one." Jack's attempt to sound insulting was mildly marred by having his toenails painted. "Get rid of a few of those anger lines."

"Shush." Grabbing a pair of scissors, Akiza carefully trimmed a protruding piece of keratin with surgical skill. "Hypocrite."

"I guess congratulations are in order." Trying to sound cheerful, Leo was actually disappointed. He had been literally metres from an opponent when Yusei had called him off. It was upsetting to be so close to showing up Yliaster's lowly evaluation of his abilities. "On getting to the finals."

"Eh." Brushing aside the intellectual effort of the first challenge, the mental and physical endurance of the second round and the skill required for the first part of the third round, Musume ignored the congratulations. "I'd happily wipe the floor with the four of you any day."

"You'll only be Duelling one person." With his feet on lockdown, Jack had spent the bulk of his time carefully reading the rules for maybe the first time in his life. "It has to be a fair fight. If one team has two players, the other team can only use two players. And we'll be sending out our best." Jack flinched and surrendered his attempt to sound heroic as Luna began painting his smallest nail a shade of rose, tickling the sensitive skin between his toes as she did.

"Well, I'm sure Crow would happily be up for the challenge if he had the chance." Having made her decision long before entering the room, she managed to anger generations of Duellists with just a handful of syllables. "I'm forfeiting the tournament." Crammed into the tiny room, the collective might of Team 5D's stared at Musume in confusion. It had sounded like she had made it all the way to the finals of the biggest Duelling tournament ever devised only to drop out at the eleventh hour. "I mean it," Spreading her arms, she sounded utterly sincere about her choice. "This is as far as I go."

"You're a good Duellist." Swirling around in the chair, Crow met her gaze with every half revolution. "I give you a fighting chance against the other three." Grabbing the back of the chair, Musume stopped the ginger in his tracks before he could get dizzy.

"For you guys, it's been eight years." Releasing her grip left slight tears in the material of the chair from her enhanced strength. "Only a few weeks for me. I've taken you all on before and we know who the winner is." Growling on the bed but unable to move with both feet out of his control, Jack managed not to kill anybody in rage. His therapists had to be miracle workers in disguise to tame such savage anger. Sensing the tension, nobody else threw fuel to the fire.

"Next time." Raising a fist over one shoulder, Crow waited for her to gently tap it. "Bring your real Deck. Those other ones weren't all that good."

"Hey," Grabbing the fist, she tapped it against his own head. "Those were designed specifically to take you all on and I came really close to winning." Letting go of the instrument, she rapped their knuckles together. "Next time, I hope we can have an honest Duel. No Yliaster, no end of the world. You, me, a big stack of cards." Nodding to the rest of the group, she leant back against the wall. "You can use this extra time to come up with a plan against whoever you have to face."

"Next time." Smiling at his once-daughter, Crow finally looked fully recovered from his ordeal in the Shadow Duel.

"Hangon," Mashing the words together, Leo's one-track mind had skipped over the emotional parts of the conversation and home in on the gleaming nuggets that meant the most to him. "Ifyou'redroppingout,"

"Forfeiting." Dropping out meant a replacement could be selected from the runner-ups. If she forfeit just before the match, Team 5D's received an automatic victory. This was what Leo's million-mile-a-minute mind was trying to tell him. "Fourth place finalist, down in the history books."

"Doesn't that mean that we instantly go to the finals?" Pulling the rest of the team into his own peculiar mindset, they slowly grappled with the knowledge. Silver medals with lifting a finger, legendary status after just one duel. Fame, wealth, fame, power, more fame.

"Everybody stay calm." Keeping a serene expression on his face, Jack pulled his feet free and set them on the creamy carpet. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves." It was not usually him calling for calm but he was genuinely worried – thanks in part to little biology knowledge – that his head might literally explode if his blood pressure rose too fast.

"Yeah," Sitting upright, Crow wiped the green goo from his face with a hotel hand-towel and seemed in the grips of rapture. "We still have to beat a team that probably had Shadow Cards." Even the memory of last encounter wasn't enough to slow the feeling inside him.

"It could be either of them." With two very different teams and now way of knowing which would win, Yusei understood that any time spent planning for the one would fall apart if the other went through. "We should probably try and make a plan."

"I think I'm going to be throw up." It hadn't happened since he was a child but being so overly-excited had the potential to churn Leo's stomach.

"Don't be silly." Slowly rising to their feet, Akiza and Luna could actually taste the excitement in the room. "There's not enough time for that. You're going to the finals."

"We're going to win!" More a spiritual 'we' than practical, Luna's shout unleashed a way of cheering and hugging the likes of which only came about during the best of times. Crow leapt out of his chair and embraced Jack, Jack put aside their eternal rivalry and hugged him back. Leo and Luna did a little dance, Akiza found herself caught in a swirling squeeze as she grabbed Yusei around his chest and he spun them both around on the spot. Over on the outskirts of the excitement, Musume tilted her head back and roared with laughter.

"Hey!" Stopping before the hug could become a choke-hold, Crow slipped across the room as Jack found himself suddenly worrying about the state of his toenails after the antics. "Thanks." Wrapping one arm over her left shoulder and another under the right, both arms ensnared Musume in the first genuinely joyful embrace she had felt in years.

"Any time." Careful to not break his bones, she patted him on the back a few times. All at once, it became too much. A gurgle from somewhere inside was the final warning and Leo sprinted for the bathroom as Jack swept Luna up in a crazed dance and Yusei finally tripped on the long jacket, tumbling to the ground with Akiza awkwardly falling atop him.

"So what happens now?" Untangling themselves from various other members, the group managed to regain some modicum of normal behaviour through their almost insane grins. Jack's face, in particular, was starting to hurt. The muscles he needed to smile hadn't seen so much use in months. "If you're forfeiting?" As a Duellist, he saw it as a weakness to not even attempt to fight. As a person, he just barely understood her mindset.

"A bracket tournament was meant to take place over the next two days." Slightly flustered from the display of emotion, Musume pulled her long sleeves back to dangle over her hands. "As soon as I formally give notice, they'll bump you up. This can probably be over by tomorrow." It sounded too good to be true, there had to be a catch. "Of course, this means none of us can leave our hotel rooms until the preliminary rounds finish tomorrow." On the face of it, hiding out didn't seem so bad. The hotel staff were taking the confidentiality of the tournament seriously, room service was on speed dial and plenty of time to prepare. Once you got past the problem of facilities and started realising that it meant thirty-six hours with Jack and Crow locked in a room together with nowhere else to go, problems started arising.

* * *

"What order shall we go in?" Staring at the roster on the television, they tried to figure out strategies and counter-strategies for the Duel as their opponents undoubtedly did the same elsewhere. A quick call to the fawning manager had granted them a computer, printer and enough paper to make ten thousand paper cranes. Yusei had vetoed the idea of trying to get the wishes and instead begun printing off as much information on Team Fury and Team Kame. Much of their imprisonment was being spent trying to plan for either facing either team. A solid strategy was already in place for the power Decks of Team Fury but they were struggling slightly with Team Turtle and the first round was set to take place the next morning. As expected, all four teams had gone to ground and the rest of the competitors were fighting for final ranks in the background.

"I vote we put Crow in a dress and make him go twice." Jack was reclining on his bed and enjoying the slow build towards the final match. "Then we put him in a leotard for a third turn." They were all splayed around the room in various states of undress. Nobody was willing to go near a window and risk being seen and the extraction fan in the bathroom could only do so much for the building smell.

"He can probably pull it off." Examining a list drew up some fairly bleak conclusions. Team Turtle were all defensive players. They built up a strong defence and then started throwing out damage from Spells, Traps and monster effects. "Just shove a cushion under his bonnet to give him a hump and make them think he's a little old lady for the first run." Yusei realised the problem at hand and came up with a simple plan. Both Team Turtle and Team Fury only had three players. One member of their team would have to sit this final round out. "Leo, what do you think?"

Checking over the available information, Leo tried to think on an equal level to his friends. "Team Turtle likes to summon monsters fast and create an almost unbeatable barrier." Picking up a sheet of known Spells and Traps, he quickly catalogued them and their effects. "Mata, their leader, likes to destroy any monsters as well. He'll probably be the last opponent." Sucked into the information, he could have missed a conga line going past the window. "Our best chance is for Crow to go before Jack. Blackwings can swarm the field and leave behind some tributes for Jack. Red Dragon Archfiend can take down a lot of their monsters at once so they'll probably be expecting it first."

"So won't they be expecting us to send him in second as a trap?" Shifting Leo from the junior to intermediate leagues in his mind, Jack was begrudgingly impressed by the young prodigy.

"We can't afford to think like that, trying to counter a counter to a counter." Slipping through his own cards, Leo weighed the power of his own Deck against the tactics of the other team. "It's best just to go off what we know and make a strategy first. If there are any surprises, we can adapt later."

"When this is all over," Pulling a battered business card from his wallet, Crow held it out to the younger man. "Give my manager a call." It was the first time Leo had been taken seriously and dealt with on a professional level by the team.

"Get them to give me a call." Tapping idly on the desk, Yusei was smiling slightly. "I'll give him Jack's vote of confidence."

"You do that," The blonde growled. "I'll make sure to wipe the floor with Leo a few times." It was his own way of showing rivalry but it slightly unnerved Leo.

"One more thing." Reclining in the chair, Yusei folded both hands behind his head. "I'm going to sit this one out. I got the last round, you guys get this one?" It was not a question aimed at Leo but to his brothers. Maybe it was acceptable to take a turn out of rotation. But with Yliaster probably controlling the other team, it was really a question of if they both felt he was capable of taking Yusei's place. Not just now but after he was gone as well.

"Sure." Blowing off the pressure, Jack continued his low tone. "It would be good to have somebody who isn't as rusty as you."

"Whoa, steady on now." Taking the moral high ground, Crow stood up to his brother. "I'm sure there's a little old lady somewhere who can take his place if Leo doesn't want it." They continued to banter for a few minutes until Leo finally accepted the role and they could all calm down again. Letting his gaze shift to the list of known cards, something triggered in Yusei's mind as the insults bounced off indifference.

"Have any of you noticed anything weird with your Decks recently?" In the sudden celebration at being shot into the finals, Yusei had overlooked the strange circumstances of his Duel with Hunter

"Weird as in?" Recognising the serious question beneath the light tones, the Blackwing Duellist was suddenly on the alert.

"Remember my first Duel with Hunter?" Reaching over to the Duel Disk on the desk, Yusei pulled out his Deck as his brothers shared a glance. They remembered the rough course of the Duel but it had been before they even knew about being Signers. Not a particularly important chapter in their history. Spreading his cards out over the wooden desk, Yusei looked for any signs of the changes again. "Leo, can you remind the two blockheads?" Giving a perfect recital of the Duel, Leo was at serious risk of being pressured into brain scans to find out how his brain remembered Duels so perfectly.

"Let me guess, you beat him again?" Crow had seen him Duel several times over the years and – though he admitted Enjo was about as strong as he was – knew Yusei was a few rungs higher on the ladder.

"My Duel with him yesterday was exactly the same. Right up to the last turn." Finding nothing, Yusei picked out the cards that had helped him the first time around. "All my Synchro monsters were gone. Those two cards I originally drew?" Holding up Graceful Revival and Nitro Synchron, he quickly threw them back into the pile. "Gone. Instead, I got something called Junk Giant and Junk Changer and Jack, if you make a pun, I will lose it." Sensing the severity of the situation, Jack closed his mouth again. "My Extra Deck wasn't what it normally is, all the monsters were switched around. Stuff like Scar Warrior and Lightning Warrior. Ever heard of either of those?" Even walking prodigy Leo had no idea.

"There was a moment, during my Duel against Team Wrecker." Trying to be helpful, Crow just added another layer to the mystery. "I drew a Blackwing card I didn't recognise. It fit with my Deck so I just assumed it was a new card I hadn't used before." Having just taken down a monster as powerful as an Egyptian god, it had understandably not been high on his list of priorities.

"Could it be Yliaster?" Unshaken by the strange change in circumstances, Jack simply flopped about on the bed.

"Not unless they got hold of our Decks first." It was possible that their Decks or Runners had been tampered with but the strange phenomenon was too much to pin on them without extra-normal help. "Besides, an exact copy of my first Duel with Hunter? That has to mean something."

"Maybe the Crimson Dragon was trying to send you a message!" Brain still thinking in tactics, Leo was overlooking the obvious solution.

"Our only connection to the Crimson Dragon is sitting next door swapping bets on us." When they had left the room, the three ladies had been placing wagers on the various aspects of their upcoming Duel. Crow, for one, was upset to be missing out on the criminal action. "If it really wanted to send a message, Musume could just poke her head around the door and tell us." It was a bit more complicated than that but the core message was essentially correct. If their former benefactor really wanted to tell them something, she would get the broad strokes.

"Do you think it will happen again?" Still immersed in tactical thinking, Leo was concerned that no amount of strategy could overcome having their cards randomly switching out for mysterious members.

"Maybe." Shuffling his cards and pulling them back out, Yusei kept expecting to find new additions. "It's only happened a couple of times though. At this rate, we shouldn't have anything to worry about." That was only if the rate didn't suddenly shoot up. Worse, it could start spreading to other Duellists. They had absolutely no idea about what was happening.

A knock at the door interrupted their doomsday musings. Acting in coordinated chaos, three of their members dove for cover as Leo covered himself up to the neck in a robe and wrapped his hair in a towel. "Who is it?" Relying on the chain to stop the door opening too far, he peeked out through the narrow. With only his perfectly clean-shaven face showing, Leo could fool all but the closest of friends into believing he was his sister in a spare room for at least a full minute.

"That's your idea of a disguise?" With silver nanites oozing from her pores to hide her face, Musume had decided against giving herself some superficial burns just to walk to the next room in case it attracted too much attention. Because a shining silver mask was so unobtrusive.

"Can you wait a second?" Pulling himself out from the narrow space behind the safety board, Crow carefully lowered his bed back into place. Even if somebody had burst into the room with a camera, he would have been completely invisible as opposed to Jack's attempt to cling to near bathroom wall to avoid immediate detection.

Waiting until the others were at least better clothed, Leo opened the door to let her in. "Wait," Exerting some inner control, she slowly retracted the material back inside herself. "Where's Yusei?"

"Help?" In his haste to find somewhere unobtrusive to hide, Yusei had somehow folded himself into a roomy beside table cupboard between the two beds. Straightening his hairband in amazement, Crow admired the tangle of limbs as all three peered into the cupboard with various levels of amusement.

"How have you even done that?" A leg was bent up around his head, his left arm was wrapped around his back and stuck in place while his neck was slowly breaking as the confines forced it down uncomfortably close to his stomach.

"Yoga." After spending the first few months of sleepless nights gaining cramp in his legs from too much time sitting down, he took up various physical activities to keep himself limber. Yoga proved to be the perfect balance between movement and exertion. "Can somebody get me out?" Carefully reaching down, Jack closed and locked the door over increasingly loud objections.

"What's up?" Dragging the chair over, Crow dropped Leo on it and it in front of the cabinet. It wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that Yusei had picked up enough tricks to escape from the box.

"Have you guys been locked in here all day?" Sleep would be a brief affair. Nerves were always high right before the last round of a big tournament and there had never been one as big as the Pegasus Trinidad. They were making the most of their time by continuing to prepare. Any celebrations would take place after the event, not before.

"We're coming up with strategies for Team Fury and Kame." It was slated to be an epic Duel between the groups but there was already more money going on Fury for the strength of their Power Decks. "What about you?"

"Keeping my nose clean, on the straight and narrow, flying right." Pulling wide-eyed innocence, it was easy to fall for the trick if you didn't know how duplicitous she was. "Also some minor sniffing around. I've been looking up the history of the guys you might be fighting. Nothing really stands out yet but I'll keep digging." Even if she spent all night, she probably wouldn't find anything. Yliaster was too careful to leave any trail that could implicate people they associated with. "I was just stopping by to see if you needed anything? I've got some extra cards you're welcome too." It was a tantalising thought. She surely had at least a few cards that weren't even in the design stage at that moment in time.

"No." Forcing himself away from the temptation, Crow spoke for the entire team – especially the one currently crushed in the cupboard. "We're fine with our Decks as they are." Steel beams could probably have melted under the intensity of the glares he received. Both teammates had come to the same conclusion but still hated him for turning down the invitation. "Thanks anyway." Looking him over with a cool eye, she nodded in understanding. Musume might be willing to undertake whatever measures she deemed necessary but the pride they held as Duellists was impressive indeed.

"Okay. Just make sure to get plenty of rest. You're going to need it."


	11. Turtle

"Remind me what I said." Lounging on a low sofa, Musume was uncomfortable with a cap on. There is something about being locked behind a mask for extended durations that most people find difficult. Even going back as little as the hat was like a big glove was crushing the top of her head. "Something about sleep."

"Sorry," Over in one corner, Yusei was going through a rigorous series of stretches as he tried to work knots out of his muscles. "I was stuck in a cupboard for four hours." Due to one of the endless conniving plots by his brother's, a thick duvet had been placed over the bedside table to stop them hearing his increasingly pained pleas for release. It was only after they had passed midnight and were all utterly exhausted that Crow realised half his bed was still on the floor and let Yusei free from his cage.

"Nobody forced you inside. You climbed in all by yourself." Idly picking at an array of fresh fruit, she had an aggravating knack of picking out irrefutable truths from an argument and using them to her advantage.

"Why are you still here?" At seven o'clock that morning, they had all received a message to head for the nearby Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. It had once been a small family affair but evolved into a large mega-stadium able to seat one-hundred-thousand people for the bigger events. Private observation booths hovered almost directly above the pitch on the east side and professional booths lined the west edge as various technicians dealt with endless technical problems.

There had been a public outcry when it emerged that one of four remaining teams had forfeited before the first Duel was even over. Worse, that they had been allowed to remain and watch from one of the private observation booths directly overlooking the field. As luck would have it, there was a long tradition dating all the way back to the original Duellist Kingdom of inviting along close friends and Musume had graced her way in on the goodwill of a certain ginger Duellist.

"Look on the bright side." Three rhino's and a bulldozer couldn't have moved Jack away from the sprawling table of food set across one side of the luxurious observation lounge. "There are more types of coffee here than Crow can count." With Crow having blended together any espresso he could find into one dangerous cup, that was more or less true. Strange colours kept flickering in and out of his vision from the massive caffeine intake and he would later swear he could 'hear the carpet'. For the safety of himself and the others, Luna was keeping him occupied in the corner by listening to endless lines of nonsensical facts from the twitching man.

"That doesn't mean you should _only_ be having coffee." Medical science still remained baffled by the time Jack had healthily survived for two weeks on nothing but coffee, a pack of biscuits and one spoonful of sugar. "There is other food." 'Other food' included enough meals to feed five thousand people. There were cakes, sandwiches, varying choices of cereals, a toaster, six different types of bread and mountains of fruit, vegetables and meats. Musume actually had a brimming tureen all to herself, having eaten the plethora of cooked mushrooms that had been previously occupying it. There were probably equal spreads laid out on the next two booths as well. The power behind the tournament was pulling out all the stops.

"Only if you don't eat it all." Lifting the loading carving fork from the deep dish of food, she contemplated wiping it down his coat. "Did they manage to get past Snapper?"

They had been evaluating the performance of Team Turtle all night and were watching the end of their battle against Team Fury. It had been brutal. A Continuous Trap, Gravity Bind had stopped any monsters Level 4 or higher from attacking and a pair of Command Knights had drawn all attacks to themselves and prevented any as a result. Using the remaining three spaces, Snapper – the first and only member of Team Turtle to play – had summoned Stealth Bird, Swarm of Locusts and Swarm of Scarabs. They were all Level 3 monsters with the ability to set themselves once per turn. It was when they flipped back up that trouble began. Stealth Bird destroyed 1000 Life Points, Swarm of Locusts destroyed an opponents Spell or Trap and Swarm of Scarabs destroyed a monster. Bolstered by anti-destruction cards to keep all his cards safe, Snapper was able to quickly bring the match to an end with barely a scratch to himself.

"No." It hadn't been a Duel but a slaughter and Leo was worried. It still made sense for him to go first with his lower-level Morphtronic monsters evading the Gravity Bind and using their effects to great advantage but he remained nervous. "Snapper won it by himself." Of the three members – Snapper, Leatherback and Mata – Snapper was the one who had done most of the Duelling in the competition. Rumour said that Mata had only ever had to Duel less than ten times since founding Team Turtle but he never lost. Leatherback had a reputation for playing fairly but a tiny loss rate. For defensive players, they were the top dogs and rarely came away from any Duel without an unquestionable victory added to the already lengthy list.

"As I recall," Lowering the entire fork into her mouth and tearing the food off, it was clear that Musume had received her father's manners. "Next is the other semi-final Duel so they should have a chance to refresh. Oh, wait." Letting the implication sink in, she extracted an entire chicken bone from where it was poking her in the cheek. Snapper would be mentally drained from fighting three consecutive Duels and now had to go up against another three. It was an easy win.

"We should be getting down to the field then." Energised by the backhanded support, Leo was ready to go down and take on Snapper with one hand tied behind his back.

"Give me a minute." Draining the last cup of coffee, Jack had a tiny bulge growing in his stomach from the sheer intake of liquid. "I need to use the toilet."

"I'll walk with you." Able to recognise the jitters Leo was having – nervous and excited – Luna fell into the old role of trying to calm down her brother before he could explode. "So, what's the plan?" A steady thumping noise seemed to come from the end of the corridor as they waited for the elevator. "What if he uses Gravity Bind?"

"Morphtronic Magnen to absorb the ATK of my other monsters." Entering the box, he was answering the question on auto-pilot and able to focus all the better. "Morpthronic Engine for any Level 3 monster to boost its attack and overcome his defences." The doors opened to reveal a pair of grim guards.

"This way." Holding out a palm, he led them down the corridor as Luna turned to encourage her brother.

"You'll do fine." Following him until they reached the last stretch of corridor, she was quickly escorted back to the elevator as Jack strode in the opposite direction. "Good luck."

"Luck?" Pausing in the tunnel, he savoured the sweet scent of an imminent Duel. "We won't need luck." As he walked to the bench, Luna returned to the room and Leo strode across the pitch to meet Snapper, it was a foolish idea to turn down the wish. Good luck could always come in useful.

(Turn 1)

Snapper (1/3): LP: 4000 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

Leo (1/3): LP: 4000 Hand:5 Field: None Graveyard: None

Seeing somebody like Leo going up against him was enough to make Snapper's cold demeanour even more frosty. He was the strong first line of Team Turtle and usually able to win Duels even before Leatherback made it onto the field. Going up against the junior Duellist was making him out to be a joke.

"I set one monster, three cards and activate Scapegoat." Up in the box and down on the field, the members of Team 5D's frowned. This card hadn't shown up in any of the research they had previously done.

"Hey, you can't summon any monsters on the same turn you use Scapegoat!" Leo actually had the same card in his own hand but an even better plan already in motion.

"Read the fine print." Snapper sneered the words across the divide. "I can't _summon_ any monsters. It says nothing about _setting_ them." With four puffy balls of fur barricading him, the rules were definitely on his side.

"Are you sure?" Squinting across the divide, he seemed unusually suspicious of the strategy. "That doesn't really sound fair." Looking towards the officiator on the side of the field, he pressed the point. "Can he do that?" A stern nod forced the attention back on the Duel. "Wow, that's neat. Can you give me some tips after we're done here?"

"Make your move." A headache was already starting to brew inside Snapper's skull as he was forced to listen to the inferior Duellist prattle on.

(Turn 2)

Snapper (1/3): LP: 4000 Hand:1 Field: 5 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Spell/Trap

Leo (1/3): LP: 4000 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

"Do they have to be in that particular order?" Bobbing up and down in a serene fashion, the monsters proved to be a peaceful distraction from the shouting of the crowd. "I mean, can the pink and the blue one switch?" Casually summoning the Level 3 Morphtronic Scopen, Leo seemed absorbed in the cuddly little creatures protecting Snapper. "It would be really cool if you could switch them around a bit." Coolly activating Scopen's special effect, it summoned up the Level 4 Morphtronic Boomboxen as Snapper tried to crush his own face in frustration. "Do you do parties?" Slipping down a card, he smoothly continued towards his next move as the other man stood voluntarily blind.

"Shut up, shutup, SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!" Screaming into the wind, he almost missed the innocent synchro summon as Leo called up Power Tool Dragon. If the lights hadn't dazzled from beneath his hand, he might have missed the monster appearing.

"I activate Power Tool Dragon's special effect to add an equip spell to my hand!" Finally realising the trick that had been pulled, Snapper lunged for his own cards.

"I activate Nightmare Archfiends," Down on the bench, Jack hissed through his teeth. Scapegoat had been in Leo's Deck but Nightmare Archfiends was in his and it had a nasty effect. "By tributing a monster, it summons three 'Nightmare Archfiend Tokens' (L6/2000 ATK/2000 DEF) to _your_ side of the field." That wasn't all it did. Each time one of those tokens was destroyed, Leo would lose 800 Life Points. "And because tokens have been summoned, I can activate Token Feastevil." A pun of 'festival', it was also a game over for Leo. Token Feastevil would destroy all tokens on the field and inflict 300 Life Points to Leo for each one. It was 2100 Life Points for the seven tokens and another 2400 Life Points from the effect of the three Nightmare Archfiend Tokens. In one turn, Snapper had completely wiped him out.

"That was fast." Blown off his feet by the resulting blast, Leo blearily picked up the card his Duel Disk had spat out for Power Tool Dragon. Dusting himself off, he waved to the booing, jeering and laughing crowds before heading back towards Jack and Leo with a heavy heart.

"Did you intentionally bait him?" Meeting halfway, Crow was coming down from his caffeine high but still slightly shaky.

"When he used Scapegoat, I realised they must have swapped Decks between matches." It was not a rule violation but some considered it underhand play. "So I tried to annoy him to gain as much time as possible." Passing over Power Tool Dragon, he also revealed the card he had managed to set just before losing.

"Good job." It was poor timing that had cut their youngest member but Crow was heading straight for vengeance.

(Turn 3)

Snapper (1/3): LP: 4000 Hand:1 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap

Crow (2/3): LP: 4000 Hand:5 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

"You just hurt my friend." In accordance with the rules, the Duel continued with Crow instantly taking Leo's place and getting his own turn. "That was a really dumb move that you're going to regret."

"Is everyone on your team a moron?" Each active member doing a quick count, they independently agreed that about a third was. In ironic fashion, they each mentally picked out a different member.

"Says the guy who just destroyed all his defences and left me with a kick-ass monster." Growling in agreement, the massive machine edged closer as something sparked in Leo's swelling head.

"Jack, what's Pile Arm do?" Pressing a hand to the growing lump, he tried to identify the unfamiliar card clutched in his hand.

"Never heard of it." Taking a peek from the corner of his eye, he took the card and held it up in front of Leo's face for a clearer look. "Rocket Pilder. You should probably have your head looked at." It was a simple excuse for the cosmic signal that something was wrong.

"Yeah," Putting the card back into his Deck, they proved that humanity is as dumb as it is dull. "Maybe." Out on the field, Crow was making some moves of his own.

"I summon Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame (L4/1800 ATK/1200 DEF)!" With wind smoothing down the sky-blue plume, Shura took up stance beside Power Tool Dragon. "Shura, show him what we're made off." Screeching across the field, one massive claw was pulled back.

"Ignorance is what you're made off." A swirling vortex opened up before Snapper and spat the Blackwing back out where it had started. "Negate Attack ends the battle phase before you can do any damage." Snapper was a smart one when he wasn't distracted. In a single turn, he had crushed one opponent and prepared to hold off another until his defences could be rebuilt.

"Just wait." Playing a pair of face-downs, Crow was relieved at being able to blow some tension on the match. Fighting for Leo was an acceptable excuse for venting his anger. "You've got one more turn, two at most." Picking two cards from his hand, he slid them into place as the crowd began laughing at how far the formerly great team had fallen.

(Turn 4)

Snapper (1/3): LP: 4000 Hand:2 Field: None Graveyard: 1 Monster, 4 Spell/Trap

Crow (2/3): LP: 4000 Hand:2 Field: 2 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Snapper was far from an idiot. He knew that Crow would likely beat him in the next few turns and set about trying to restrict the movements of his enemies. "At the cost of 1000 Life Points, I activate Wave-Motion Cannon!" A steampunk looking artillery piece appeared behind him.

Up in the observation booth, the mood turned sour. Wave-Motion Cannon was a rare Spell that would gain a counter during each of the owner's Standby Phases. It wasn't going to do much damage to Crow but Jack might very well enter the Duel with a loaded gun glued to his head.

"Down Burst!" Crow had hoped to use it later but he knew as his friends what the other card could mean. "All your Spell and Trap cards return to face-down position." It was a minor victory at best.

"You really should have waited. I activate The Dark Door!" A continuous Spell, The Dark Door restricted each player to attacking with a single monster per Battle phase. If Crow had waited a few more moments, he would have won on his next turn.

"They're not using a Stall Deck." In their previous Duels, Team Turtle had made use of high-powered defences to simply outlast their opponents while they used the occasional Spell and Trap to whittle away at the Life Points. "It's a _Burn_ Deck." Leo was actually outraged at being right. Burn Decks were near fatal in one-on-one Duels. They focused almost entirely on causing the maximum amount of damage in a single turn. There were dozens of variations and they were known to be fatal if the opponent was unprepared. If, for example, a team famous for using Stall Decks suddenly switched over to Burn Decks, the other team might as well give up and go home.

(Turn 5)

Snapper (1/3): LP: 3000 Hand:0 Field: 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster, 4 Spell/Trap

Crow (2/3): LP: 4000 Hand:3 Field: 2 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Spell/Trap

Crow's Blackwing strategies were fairly straightforward – remove any obstacles and attack the opponent. If he was limited to a single monster a turn, it was going to be tricky to beat even Snapper. "Maybe I could do with a couple of extra cards – Cards for Black Feathers!" Discarding Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind, he suffered another bout of that strange phenomenon as he drew one of his cards. It was definitely his monster but it was unquestionably different at the same time. "I tribute Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame to summon Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn (L5/2000 ATK/900 DEF)." As the tall, dark and brooding monster appeared, he stealthily set a card. "Sirocco, take him down." Whatever was different about the card, it still worked exactly the same way.

"Is that it?" Even with half his Life Points gone, Snapper was still being overwhelmingly arrogant. "That's the best you can do. We've got this in the bag."

"You're also dressed the colour of mucus." Any woman with eyes or man with taste would be able to point out it was verdant but it got a laugh from the crowd anyway.

"It's called 'forest green'. Not _mucus_." Nobody but Jack and a dwindling handful of rich, white, old men could have trumped the superior snark in his voice.

"It's snot, is it?" Missing the pun, Snapper almost answered in the affirmative before the renewed laugh of the crowd warned him away.

(Turn 6)

Snapper (1/3): LP: 1000 Hand:1 Field: 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster, 4 Spell/Trap

Crow (2/3): LP: 4000 Hand:1 Field: 2 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

For a dramatic last stand, Snapper went out with a whimper rather than a bang. "I set one monster." It was a devious creature he had placed. Not the stuff of legend but definitely enough to hold the line. "And activate Wave-Motion Cannon." Throwing away the last of his Life Points, Snapper felt safe in the knowledge he was leaving behind a power to bring down the last thing standing between his team and eternal glory. "Leatherback." Meeting his replacement halfway through the journey to the bench, he passed over the strong field of play. "Take them both down." With Snapper being replaced during his own turn, Team Turtle effectively got a do-over to improve their strategy with.

(Turn 7)

Leatherback (2/3): LP: 4000 Hand:5 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Crow (2/3): LP: 4000 Hand:1 Field: 2 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

Standing in the booth, Musume had only started paying attention when Crow entered the field. "Snapper is the base," As she laid out the Turtle's plan, she muttered notes under her breath. "Maka likes to go for the big finish but only if Leatherback doesn't get there first." It was a ploy that perfectly mirrored the idea of Team 5D's but executed through years of gruelling training as opposed to the natural mesh her family had.

"This isn't going well." Gnawing at a thumb nail, Luna was evaluating the possibility of winning as constantly shrinking. While Crow would normally fly to victory in a single turn, he was being shackled to the ground. Worse, with Leatherback having effectively restarted the turn, Wave-Motion Cannon had gained a counter.

"I summon Mucus Yolk (L3/0 ATK/100 DEF)." An amoeba-looking red blob appeared to one side. "Don't make any egg jokes – they're not funny." Seeing Crow open his mouth for casual banter, Leatherback stopped the bad humour before it could begin. "By sending one monster from my hand to my Graveyard," Slipping a card into play, he threw out Different Dimension Dragon. "I can activate Double Attack to let a monster with less ATK than the discard monster attack twice." Oozing over the field, Mucus Yolk dribbled on his shoes slightly.

"Seriously?" Kicking the thing free, Crow tried to spot the point of being attacked twice by a 0 ATK monster.

"Seriously." This time, the blob hit him in the knees and did some damage. "Mucus Yolk gains 1000 ATK for every successful attack and can attack directly." Meaning Crow only had two turns at best to get rid of the creature. "I activate Toll, set one card and end my turn." Toll was a brutal Continuous Spell that forced each player to pay 500 Life Points for each attack. Coupled with The Dark Door, it limited Crow even further.

(Turn 8)

Leatherback (2/3): LP: 4000 Hand:0 Field: 2 Monster, 4 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap

Crow (2/3): LP: 3000 Hand:2 Field: 2 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

Looking at that new face-down, Crow felt his Duellist sense tingle. "Sirroco, squish that Mucus Yolk." Before the wings could even fully spread, a bellowing lion's roar split the air. "Threatening Roar?" A Trap that prevented any attacks for one turn, it also had the added side-effect of sealing Crow's fate.

"Sorry." Listening to the roars as they died away in muffled growls, Leatherback made it through the turn unscathed. "Nothing personal."

"You're a lot nicer than the last guy." All three of his face-downs were useless at this point. There wasn't anything he could do but add a pair of cards and consider the future.

"Snapper?" Watching Crow try to find an escape route and realise the impossible, it was clear Team Turtle were gaining a strong lead. "Yeah, he gets irritated quick. Leatherbacks though, we're a bit more flexible." Accepting the inevitable upcoming damage, Crow reluctantly finished his turn.

(Turn 9)

Leatherback (2/3): LP: 4000 Hand:1 Field: 2 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

Crow (2/3): LP: 2500 Hand:0 Field: 2 Monster, 5 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

"Sorry about this." Admiring his draw, Leatherback was quick to slip it in before the balance of control could swing towards the other team. "I activate Mage Power." A rare Equip card, it increased the ATK and DEF of one monster for every Spell and Trap the owner controlled.

"It's fine." Watching the monster, now engorged to the size of a small bus, ooze across to him, Crow prepared for the sticky end. "But you can believe I'll be back soon. Blackback!" Pausing the monster in the midst of the attack, Crow was able to special summon a Blackwing monster from his graveyard with less than 2000 ATK. "You probably don't remember Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind (L3/1300 ATK/400 DEF) but he gave me a couple of cards a few turns back." It was always satisfying to pull tricks like that one. "Don't bother introducing yourself." Appearing in a flurry of wings, Gale dissolved into a group of rings as Crow flipped up his Urgent Tuning trap. "Because I'm forging a will of steel with the speed of light to craft a sublime form! Blackwing – Silverwind the Ascendant (L8/2800 ATK/2000 DEF)!" Dressed in ornate golden armour and flaring resplendent silver wings, the monster was also wielding a sword longer than it was tall – two stories tall.

"That was a nice move." Leatherback was similarly adjusted as Crow, treating the opponent with respect and a bit of humour. "Don't forget, Atlas still has to get through two of us."

"Somehow," Struggling to keep his neck above the slime coating around him, Crow smiled. "I don't think that will be a problem for him." Shaking free of the hologram, Crow began pulling the cards free from his Duel Disk as he walked to meet Jack.

"Good choice." It wouldn't be until after the competition was over that Crow would admit that he had chosen to steer away from Black-Winged Dragon for non-tactical reasons.

"Check the face-downs before you start." Nodding professionally at his brother, Crow walked to join Leo on the bench. "How many turns do you think he will take to beat Leatherback?"

"Less than four." Hedging his bet slightly, Leo watched his idol take up a stance with Power Tool Dragon on one side and Blackwing – Silverwind the Ascendant on the other.

(Turn 10)

Leatherback (2/3): LP: 3500 Hand:0 Field: 2 Monster, 4 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

Jack (3/3): LP: 4000 Hand:5 Field: 2 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

"Nice trick." Mucus Yolk now had 4000 ATK and could attack directly, Jack was limited to one monster and forced to pay 500 Life Points for each attack. There was nothing else like starting a Duel with a disadvantage – all the better to prove his skill. "You'll be gone within two turns." Leatherback had seen eyes like that before, every time Mata went onto the field. A good team was like family but Mata could get seriously scary when he Duelled so Leatherback tried to limit those encounters. "Power Tool Dragon." Grinding into action, this was the first time that the monster had done anything since Leo summoned it on his one turn. "Target his face-down monster."

"Due to its effect." Watching the drill bounce off the blue card, a huddled velvet robe appeared on his side of the field. "Spirit Reaper cannot be destroyed in battle."

"No," Drawing back its massive sword, Silverwind seemed to sense what was coming. "But this feathered freak has the ability to destroy two monsters with equal or less DEF each turn." Swinging the sword in a mighty blow, it carved directly through both monsters and left Leatherback with only his ongoing Spells for what little protection they could provide. "For my move, I summon Dark Resonator (L3/1300 ATK/300 DEF)." Dinging its large tuning fork, the creature had the ability to survive one attack a turn. "Let's see what you can do."

(Turn 11)

Leatherback (2/3): LP: 3500 Hand:1 Field: 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap

Jack (3/3): LP: 3500 Hand:4 Field: 3 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Picking up his card, Leatherback knew it was no use. Sebek's Blessing was a Quick-Play Spell that increased one player's Life Point by the amount a direct attack of their monster to the opponent. With no monsters, it was just clutter on the field to hinder Mata when he arrived. "I end my turn." As the crowd jeered their disapproval from the stands, Leatherback was fine to admit that he might lose. At least Wave-Motion Cannon had gained a third counter. On his next turn, it would be enough to take out the forgetful Jack.

(Turn 12)

Leatherback (2/3): LP: 3500 Hand:1 Field: 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap

Jack (3/3): LP: 3500 Hand:5 Field: 3 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

There had been a moment of concern that he might have to skip to the big surprise but something was smiling on Jack that day. It wasn't whoever had put the strange card in his Deck. Cursed Shield, an Equip Spell that weakened a monster by 500 ATK but inflicted damage to the other player when it was destroyed felt uncomfortably familiar in his hand. "Silverwind the Ascendant, strike him down!" Costing himself another 500 Life Points, Jack at least managed to take Leatherback all the way down to 700 Life Points in one turn.

"That was close." Behind Leatherback, the needles on Wave-Motion Cannon were hitting the ends of their dials. "But I still have 700 Life Points left."

"I have a friend." Reaching for a card, Jack carefully laid it into place. "Lives in a place called Crash Town." On the other side of the world, Kalin gave a grave smile at the flickering television in the packed bar. "Really fast draw. How about we have a race?" Settling into a slightly crouched posture, his spare hand dangled just beside the Duel Disk. "See who is faster."

(Turn 13)

Leatherback (2/3): LP: 700 Hand:2 Field: 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap

Jack (3/3): LP: 3000 Hand:4 Field: 3 Monster, 4 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Leatherback was quick to draw but Jack was already waiting for official confirmation of the current phase. "I activate Sneak Exploder." Over on the Team Turtle bench, Mata rose to his feet and slowly began heading towards the field. "For your standby phase," It was the quickest use he could put the card to. "It gets sent to the graveyard." It could only be activated when the opponent had no players. During their standby phase, it was sent to the graveyard and took 500 Life Points for each monster the controller had on their field. "That wasn't even close." Smiling coldly as Leatherback turned to leave, Jack eyed up his new opponent.

"Let's get going." Taking the three cards from Leatherback, Mata took up position on the other side of the field from Jack.

(Turn 14)

Mata (3/3): LP: 4000 Hand:5 Field: 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Jack (3/3): LP: 3000 Hand:5 Field: 3 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Spell/Trap

With an extra standby phase – courtesy of the change in players – Wave-Motion Cannon now had enough power to wipe out 5000 Life Points. Mata knew that Crow would have left something behind to save Jack and chose not to activate it at that moment. "I set two cards." Tugging at a monster, he casually summoned it in defence position. "And summon Magna Drago (L2/1400 ATK/600 DEF)." It was a small dragon curled up on his field but it had the added benefit of being a Tuner. Mata was up to something. "And end my turn." Words of Mata's hermit approach to Duelling had spread an air of mystery about his actions and the crowd wasn't sure to support his actions or be derisive of them. Most chose to focus on Jack instead. At least they knew where they stood on the blonde Duellist.

(Turn 15)

Mata (3/3): LP: 4000 Hand:2 Field: 1 Monster, 5 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Jack (3/3): LP: 3000 Hand:6 Field: 3 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Spell/Trap

"From my hand, I activate Double Summon." It had been a plan but now he had the right cards, it was a course of action. "I summon Battle Fader (L1/0 ATK/0 DEF)." A wildly swinging pendulum that had the ability to disrupt the game, the monster only occupied the space for a moment. "Let it fade away to leave behind Power Invader (L5/2200 ATK/0 DEF)." A hulking purple giant, nothing seemed able to excite the chill Mata. "Let's finish this with a bang," Around him, the two monsters dissolved and merged as a new outline was formed

"Something's not right." Seated as soon as Crow left the field, Musume still had the sharp gaze of a Duellist. "Mata's up to something."

"You shouldn't have done that to Leo," Solidity ran like a virus through the network of green lines. "It was a cruel trick to play" A gust of wind howled through the stadium and picked up the corners of his jacket. "So now I synchro summon" A howl echoed through the stadium and drowned out the cheering fans. "Red Dragon Archfiend (L8/3000 ATK/2500 DEF)!"

"Behold," Ghosting up from the other side of the field, a misty shape appeared. "Phantom Dragon (L8/2300 ATK/2200 DEF). Because you special summoned a monster, I can special summon mine at the expense of two monster zones." It was a shocking move. Technically, a synchro summon _was_ a special summon but few people really remembered that little fact. "I activate Urgent Tuning." No good Duellist left their Deck without one. "To synchro summon Trident Dragion (L10/3000 ATK/2800 DEF)." Bellowing fire and smoke, the triple-headed dragon was as much a match to Red Dragon Archfiend as anything.

"Fine," Angry at maybe having to sacrifice something of his own, Jack was in a foul mood. "Red Dragon can take down that poser." Could, unless Mata activated Half or Nothing. Jack had the option of either not attacking or halving the ATK of each monster on his field. In the end, he let his turn pass without attacking or adding any more cards.

(Turn 16)

Mata (3/3): LP: 4000 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

Jack (3/3): LP: 3000 Hand:3 Field: 3 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

"You really gave a go of it." For the really attentive audience members, they had realised that Wave-Motion Cannon now stood at six counters. 6000 Life Points from Jack.

"Let me guess," Eyeing the massive weapon behind Mata, Jack had been fully aware of it for his entire stint on the field. "You're going to wipe me off the map with that thing."

"I wasn't going to use it last turn." Gracious in his surety of winning, Mata was willing to share his logic with the world. "Hogan probably left you something to counteract it. I needed something of my own. Wave-Motion Cannon," Those with binoculars could see the dials suddenly rotate back to their starting positions as a ball of tightly confined lightning formed in the depths of the mighty weapon. "End him." Observant members had kept track of the amount of damage Wave-Motion Cannon would do.

"I activate Chaos Life." Keen minds would identify the card Crow had left behind. Mata, in particular, had been awaiting it.

"Dark Bribe." A Counter Trap, it stopped the activation of any Spell or Trap and gave the opponent an extra card. "I told you." Watching the lightning blow across the field, Mata was insufferably smug. "I planned for this."

"So did Leo." When the electric cloud cleared, Jack was still standing. More than that, the counter declared him to have a whopping 9000 Life Points. "Damage Eraser." Filtering the last of the sparks, the Trap had been set all the way back in the second turn of the Duel by a sneaky hand. "When I would lose Life Points from a card effect, Damage Eraser turns that loss into a gain." Around the world, cheers rang Jack's name, Leo's name and a few even for Crow. Every inch of the city echoed with the cheers from the stadium as an obvious winner came to the forefront.

"I might not have beaten you," Mata's joy had turned to murderous rage at being outsmarted by the snivelling brat. "But I'm taking down that damn toy machine!" Sending Trident Dragion bellowing and belching towards Power Tool Dragon, Team Turtle still didn't grasp the teamwork that they were facing.

"Didn't you listen?" Flipping up the final card left behind, Jack felt a surge of savage familial anger. "Crow said you would regret hurting our friend. Blackwing – Bombardment!" Vanishing from inside the outfit, Blackwing – Silverwind the Ascendant left behind the golden armour and mighty sword behind for Power Tool Dragon to weld to itself. "By sacrificing one Blackwing monster, a synchro monster gains its ATK for the rest of the turn." Far from being destroyed, Power Tool Dragon cleaved the mighty monster directly down the middle with a single blow of the massive sword it had inherited. With the extra power boost, it was able to inflict substantial damage at the same time.

Enraged beyond words, the only move Mata had left was to empty his hand of the traps. One was Mirror Force and would obliterate those dragons for good when Jack attacked.

(Turn 17)

Mata (3/3): LP: 1400 Hand:0 Field: 5 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap

Jack (3/3): LP: 3000 Hand:5 Field: 2 Monster Graveyard: 3 Monster, 5 Spell/Trap

Look at this. Another card that wasn't in his Deck. Stop Defence. Where had it come from? Leo's head injury suddenly seemed a lot less like a convenient excuse. Still, he already had everything he needed to win. "This tournament began as something we were all doing together." Unlike Mata, Jack knew his real chances of winning. There was maybe one combination of cards that could stop him and the odds of Mata having all three were in the millions. "But then you hurt my friend. Crow and I, well, we didn't like that." After Leo had been kicked out on his first turn, they had forgotten about Yliaster and the tournament. It had become more personal. "It didn't even matter about who got to be the next King of Games." In the darkest moments of nights in the future, Jack would wake in chill sweats as he remembered how utterly sincere that had been. "You came after family." Holding a card that had been in his hand since stepping onto the field, he raised it up high. "I activate Scarlet Security!"

Up in the booth, the team began celebrating early. Despite her grumpy outside, Musume found herself crushed in Luna's embrace as Akiza and Yusei grabbed one another and began jumping into the air with sheer excitement. Kalin laughed from afar, fans cheered from down in the stands and their friends around the world burst out in celebrations as history was written and Red Dragon lifted both claws high about its curled horns.

"Because you failed to destroy Red Dragon Archfiend, it can now destroy _all_ your Spell and Trap cards." Toll, The Dark Door, Mirror Force, Wall of Revealing Light and even an Astral Barrier were all wiped away. "You know, it would be wrong to take all the fun for myself." Jack couldn't call Leo up onto the pitch in person but he could do the next best thing. "Power Tool Dragon," Throwing out an arm, he let the monster stream past. "Finish him off." Pulling back the mighty blue scoop on its arm, the metal dragon smashed it directly into Mata.

Game Over

Winner: Team 5D's


	12. Wrecked

_**This chapter contains scenes of violence, gore and runs parallel to the previous chapter. If you do not enjoy any of these these items, this chapter can be skipped without losing pace to the main story.**_

It was worth noting that the latest member of the play was still hovering in the background as the Duel went on and had an experience of their own. They slipped through the crowds with ease and listened to endless lines of conversation, discarding the banal and picking up dozens of helpful little facts. It was amazing what people would say when they thought nobody was listening. Corruption, bad jokes, outright murder.

Flattening against a wall, the dark shape tried to search out the voices again. They were familiar, had been heard on the road. One whistling slightly through broken teeth, the other two angry at the noise. Sean, Wayne, Craig – Team Wrecker had somehow managed to make it to the finish line and didn't seem ready to live and let live.

"Those bastards are up next." A note of normal tones was audible through outright rage.

"They'll have to go through the tunnels to get to the field. There has to be a way into those." Was that Craig? It was impossible to tell over the hubbub of the crowd. It was luck that even every other word could be heard.

"Atlas will have been drinking that coffee the entire time." It was the slightest things that threw a plan into disarray. "And dollars to doughnuts that the kid wants some time with his sister before the big match." Team Wrecker had clearly put some thought towards the attack. They could pick and chose their targets and take them down in swift attacks. Even Jack could have been overwhelmed if all three rushed him at once.

"I want that ginger prick." Knowing enough, the silent eavesdropper peeled away from their hiding place and began hurrying as fast it could.

It was possible to get from one side of the stadium to the other without being seen at all but the pounding crowds were enough to cover one person in the open and a small electromagnetic field would distort the cameras in emptier corridors. Normally, guards would be dispatched to check the equipment but the flickering blob of static moved at such speed through the complex that it was probably dismissed as a system glitch. With the event of a lifetime providing hundreds of possibilities for failure at every corner, the staff had their hands full with everything else and they managed to arrive on the outskirts of the private section for finalist within a few minutes. Then the problems really started.

Security was a lot tighter here. Cameras would be actively monitored at all times and there would be somebody along to check any problems within seconds. Sticking to the darkest parts of the corridors, it edged towards an emergency door. A wry thought turned towards the classic ideas of using a picture to fool the camera or setting off the alarm to divert guards. Instead, strong fingers fastened around a nut and began turning by the tiniest fractions. It wouldn't work if the camera dropped instantly, that would alert security somebody had tampered with it. If it was done perfectly – and it was – the camera would gradually begin to slide down and lose view of the door.

For any advanced security system, fire doors were always a weak point. Strictly speaking, they were meant to only open when the alarms went off but nobody wanted to face a legal action when a system failed and people burned to death. Instead, they placed extra sensors on the doors themselves. If a fire door was detected as open, it would activate a smaller alarm on the system. This could be overcome with two small pieces of tape, a length of wired in red plastic – so it wouldn't be immediately noticed – and the ability to squeeze through tight spaces. Simply attach either end of the cable to the tiny circuit to extend it a bit, push the door open, slide through and shut it again. Even if an actual fire happened, the door would open wide enough to pull the wire free and still set the alarms off.

With no cameras in the emergency stairwell, it was possible to reach the private top floor within a minute. The plan was to go to the roof and try to lower in through the ventilation systems but keen hearing picked up the sound of excited voices as Leo and Luna headed for the elevator with Crow. That meant that Jack was probably already in the toilet and no time was left. Turning back down the stairs, the figure skipped entire flights as it hurtled to the bottom floor. There was no fire door at the end of the bottom flight, just a regular one that lead into the tunnels. Edging it open, the figure peeked into the dim corridors as the elevator completed the final stretch of the descent.

There was a guard on either side of the doors but none patrolling the rest of the tunnels. It was easier just to cut off entry points instead. "This way." Holding out a muscled palm, one gentle giant indicated the tunnel. It was impossible to approach the elevator and not be seen by the cameras so the dark shape was forced to settle for jumping and waving in a futile attempt to attract attention. There was a hopeful second when Luna turned to wish her brother luck and her line of sight fell perfectly upon the gesturing figure but she failed to see it. With the three members already heading towards the field under guard, it left Jack exposed and no time to concoct another plan. Instead, the figure sprinted through the unmonitored tunnels back towards where Team Wrecker had been. If it could not warn Team 5D's directly, then they would have to distract Team Wrecker with another manipulated target instead.

With most bodies having avoided going near the three lumbering bodies of rage, it was a surprise when somebody walked into a member of Team Wrecker instead of the other way around. "Excuse me." Straightening a jacket, the figure walked away as the three men stood dumbfounded by their luck.

"Isn't that the driver?" Watching the slim build gently ply a bin from the wall, it exposed a large grate in the wall that pulled free to reveal a dark hole behind.

"Sure is." Watching the glasses get tucked into an inside pocket, the three idiots feel for the perfect bait as it dropped into the shadows. Though he had fallen out with the Signers, Obake hadn't come this far just to leave before a final winner could be announced. There were also certain other advantages to being at the final venue of the biggest tournament ever.

Dropping their attention-grabbing swagger, the three men hurried over to the hole and manipulated the bin to cover it again with just enough space for them to squeeze through the hole with. On the other side was a sheer drop of about eight feet into dimly lit tunnels with their prey having already slipped away. A faint sound of footsteps could be heard coming from one way so they quickly followed before Obake could get out of their tenuous grip.

* * *

As the celebrations began across the world, Obake walked through the chilled corridors deep beneath the facility. With the announcement of the finals still echoing around the stadium, he had taken advantage of the throbbing crowds and screaming fans to bypass numerous security systems. Admittedly, he might have tripped one or two in his haste but the competition would most likely be distracting any security officers normally watching. Servers bore data both incriminating and incredible that now lay securely within his pocket. Carefully jotting down a sentence in his notebook, a sharp corner provided the right opportunity to try and kick away his ankle. Well-versed in the action, Obake stepped over the foot without even giving it any attention. A sharp shove in the small of his back was more of an alerting presence.

"Hey, arsehole." Gathered together in an imposing trio, they each carried some form of weapon. A plank of stout wood scavenged from a palate, knuckles tightly wrapped in spare wraps of cloth. A serrated hunting knife.

"Team Wrecker." Gently writing a final note, he slid the pen inside the spine and closed the thick cover. "What do you want?" Watching Wayne and Craig circle into his peripheral vision, Obake kept both eyes carefully fixed on the apparent leader of Sean and his nonchalantly held knife.

"Somebody blabbed to the police about a few packages of 'medication' we were carrying." It was clear that even with their overwhelming advantage, that peculiar quality clinging to the Englishman was enough to make them wary of speaking openly about their illicit cargo. Being found tied to the floor had been enough to persuade the police that they were being framed and be released on bail. After all, a vigilante would have called the police instead of waiting for a passing traveller to notice them and a rival gang would have taken the drugs and killed them for the trouble. "And you were travelling with those damn Japs that just took our place in the finals." Closing the notebook with a sharp snap, Obake took sadistic pleasure from the flinch coming from each figure.

"Gentlemen, it has been a _turbulent_ few days. I would ask that you not be so offensive." Splitting his face into a dangerous smile, he ran the spine through his fingers until the bottom edge was dangling between his thumb and palm.

"Like we give a shit." Wrapping a hand around Obake's collar the knife moved dangerously close to his eye and hovered close enough to tickle his eyelashes. Unnervingly, he continued to blink in a perfectly normal fashion. "Listen to me, you sonnofa bitch," It has been said that manners make a man. In this case, rudeness was the cause of unmaking three.

Lifting a knee, Obake drove it tightly into Sean's 'intimate area'. As the grip was released, he pushed forward and drove his notebook into the throat of his attacker. Both hands flashed to the throat as Sean's legs crossed to staunch the flow of blood to the damaged tissue between both legs.

As the knife fell, Obake caught it by the handle and tightened his grip around the handle. A solid blow landed between two ribs and probably cracked a few bones. He never cared to check. As the fist withdrew, he stabbed through the palm, twisting the blade as it moved between the bones before ripping it out again. A scream sounded in the tunnel as he tucked the arching lumber under his arm and rolled along the swinging block of wood to land the knife directly into the heart of Wayne.

Watching the twitching body fall to the floor with savage satisfaction, he swiped aside the retaliatory blow coming from Craig before simply slicing through his belly and letting the piles inside pour out. Turning finally back to the first victim where he was struggling to regain footing, stunned by the turn of fortune.

"Whoever you happen to worship," Lashing out before the last member of Team Wrecker could react, first one knee was broken before the next blow gripped an arm and dragged it from the socket. Obake was careful with his timing, using the velocity of Sean's falling body to make the attack even more severe. "I suggest you thank them that I'm in a hurry."

At several points over the continent, Akiza had wondered which was the true face of the man: the polite yet cold mask that she had seen in Japan or the warm and friendly version that had become fast friends with Luna. In a way, both were right. But there was a reason people thought of the SRC Obake as a mask. Dropping that facade, the deadly creature left in the tunnels was devoid of hatred, love or even compassion. All that mattered was the end goal.

Knocking the flailing arm aside, Obake drove the blade through the screaming tongue and deep into Sean's brain. Twisting the blade until limbs stopped flailing, he left the blade buried where it was as the unbroken hand was wrapped carefully about the handle. Even if the bodies were simply left as they were, most police would be forced to assume that a disagreement had come as a result of their drug smuggling activities. Wayne and Craig had attacked Sean and – even though he mortally wounded Craig first – Craig ultimately turned the knife into Sean's brain before ultimately succumbing to his wounds. Of course, that was only if the bodies were discovered.

Observing the carnage in the halls, Obake measured his choices carefully. Dragging one body at a time down the hallway, he threw them into the least likely hiding place – a paper recycling bin. With such an important event currently ongoing, the confidential paperwork would have to be securely destroyed in an incinerator. The day's collection would typically happen in the evening, allowing plenty more files to be piled atop from the chute above. Right on cue, several boxes plummeted down the pipe and collided with the fresh corpses, partially covering their still forms. Slipping the mask back over his unfeeling, practical nature once again, Obake calmly observed the remaining blood left in the hallway. A supply closet he had passed on the way to the servers held what he was looking for. If he had the time, a bucket, mop and several bottles of bleach would have allowed him to be more thorough. Instead, he opted for a heavy metal trolley and a hefty can of red paint. Prying the lid partially open with a screwdriver, he headed back down the bloodied corridor with a measured pace.

Passing the recycling unit, he was pleased to see more of the bodies had already been covered up. Approaching the area most filled with blood, he knocked the sloshing can of paint to the floor and let the liquid flow across and through the pools already present. When it was discovered, the wheel marks and footprints would make it seem that a careless accident had simply not been cleaned up. With all the celebrations going on through the country, it was improbable that anybody would be coming to such a remote corner of the facility before the bodies were disposed of. Walking down unconnected corridors until the trails from his wheels ran day, Obake simply walked into the nearest room, abandoned the trolley and forced a small pebble into the old mechanical lock. By the time anybody uncovered the equipment, nobody would be able to make the connection between it and the possible disappearance of Team Wrecker.


	13. Blackwing VS Stardust

After Yusei and Crow had headed off for their Duel, their assorted friends started making their own private bets. Musume had already promised not to overreact from whatever result came but they weren't seriously expecting her to keep her word. Akiza and Luna were divided on who would win and Leo was just ecstatic that he would be watching the Duel and then facing off against Jack. For his part, Jack was taking advantage of the small buffet lunch that had been set out for them and was pouring endless cups of coffee. It would have shaken Leo's confidence to know that Jack only drank caffeine before a Duel when he was certain of victory.

A quiet tap at the door interrupted their gambling with the hurried arrival of a flustered audio engineer and they fell silent.

"Is Fudo still in here?" Dangling several cables around her neck, trying to fix some sound problem with the tablet, she was multi-tasking with the innate skill of a professional.

"What?" Gripping his cup of coffee in one hand, Jack was shaking slightly at the idea that the most important Duel of his life would be cancelled after Yusei ran away in fear.

"We've got Hogan primed for a big reveal but Fudo isn't in place." Smacking the tablet, she tried to force the bug from existence with brute force. "Listen, we're up to our eyeballs in security issues and we can't spare anybody." Flicking her gaze around the room to actually check for Yusei, she quickly returned to her own issues. "And of all the places to cut corners, somebody chose my department to run on half budget and a third the staff." Following a few more sharp knocks to the screen, she tucked it under one arm with an air that made it clear she was restraining herself from smashing it instead. "Hogan's ready in his tunnel but the last we can tell, Fudo went towards his side but might have got lost in one of the utility tunnels."

"Aren't there cameras down there?" Already coming together as one unit, the same thought was weaving through the group. No cameras, plenty of escape routes and a man Yliaster wanted dead.

"Only at the exits. There are too many tunnels to cover altogether." Tapping fingers along the edge of the tablet, she examined the group. "Look, I want this Duel to happen as much as any of you." That matter was an overstatement if there ever was one. "If your friend doesn't Duel, I don't get paid. You two, you're not part of the tournament." Noting the lack of Duelling equipment or exhausted bodies, she had picked out Luna and Akiza as the only two non-combatants in the room. "Take a look around, see if you can find him. And do it fast, we don't have all day." Fishing a pair of passes from the overfilled pockets of her boiler suit, she threw one across to Akiza and the other to Luna.

"Fine." Akiza snatched the laminated card from the air before Luna could grab it. "But I'll find Yusei by myself." Walking up to the engineer, she passed it back. "Luna can stay here."

"Your choice." Shrugging her indifference, Serena – Akiza could spot an inverted nametag attached to a twisted blue lapel – crammed the spare pass back into her waistband. "Just get him out there in the next fifteen minutes." A few seconds after the door closed, she was screaming at the tablet loud enough to be heard all the way down the corridor.

"Why not me?" Dangling the pass around her tanned neck, Akiza shook her hair out of the band at the back.

"Because if Yusei is just lost, you're not going to want to see my reaction." Turning with a dangerous smile, she let a tinge of decidedly un-doctorly feelings slip into her smile. "And if it is Yliaster, _I'm_ not going to want you to see my reaction." With Crow having already braved the brink of death once that week, she wasn't going to keep as tight a restraint on her temper as normal.

"I'll come with you." Unwinding herself from the relaxed position on the padded couch, Musume seemed less concerned about Yusei than she did the weather. "Two sets of eyes and all that."

"No." Drawing on her borrowed authority as the weird alternate-mother to the daughter she never had, Akiza stopped her with the single word. "We're not going to let them find out about you." It was weird. They never really discussed who was in charge. Yusei just seemed to take the lead and they would follow. Now Akiza was stepping into his place and they couldn't really find a reason to object. Maybe it was her refined doctor's manner, maybe it was the way she could rip them apart with her mind.

"Fine." Settling back into her seat, Musume was oddly comforted by the command. A taste of the childhood she had never had. "But I'm tearing this stadium apart if you're not back in twenty minutes." Most people would mean it metaphorically. Most people didn't have two ancient spirits constantly battling inside them and the ability to channel just enough power to level a small city on a bored afternoon. "Try the west side first. That's where the idiot was meant to go."

* * *

Utility tunnels all across the world have a similar vibe to them. Quiet. Loud. Warm. Cold. Bright lights and dark corners. The ones running under and through the stadium were wider than the ones back at the SRC, used to move large loads and entire teams instead of just containing pipes and storage spaces. A few of the tunnels were as big as twenty feet wide, most only ten. The one Akiza was heading towards was about five and blocked.

"Sorry." Holding up a meaty palm, an overweight security guard who practically filled the opening to the west tunnels tried to stop her going past. "No entry allowed." Nobody had yet figured out there was an unguarded access point behind a row of bins. Even when somebody found the bodies, the tiny gap would be overlooked. Nobody in their right minds would drop eight feet into a dark tunnel.

"I've got a pass." Blowing off the laboured line with her laminated card, Akiza was past the unidentifiable mass of flesh and into the concrete maze before it could be mentally processed. Security guards were hired for their ability to take and deal heavy blows, not their brains.

Inside was about as thrilling as could be expected. Some few loose cables, a handful of pipes. One straight blue line ran directly towards the main pitch. It was – in a word – idiot-proof. The journey was maybe a few minutes but there were several tunnels splintering off the main one she was following. Near the end was a sharp turn to the right, hiding whoever was going onto the pitch from being seen before their time. The light and bellows of the crowd were enough for her to know Yusei hadn't gone outside yet. She would have been deafened by the cheering otherwise.

Beneath the muted roar coming down the tunnel, she could hear a more regular beat coming from one of the bigger tunnels she had passed a few seconds ago. Walking back to the large opening, she cautiously peered around the corner in case something unsafe was going on. Most of the lights were turned off, leaving the majority of the tunnel in what little dim lighting could filter down from the opening a short distance away. Pacing back and forth in the concrete confines of the entrance tunnel, the forerunner for the title seemed dazed by the upcoming Duel.

"Hey," Leaning into his field of view, Akiza felt her existence labelled 'Unimportant' and filed into a box with the rest of the universe. "What's going on?"

"I shouldn't be going out there." Turning an instant before the wall, he marched back across the ten feet of space. "It's all a farce." Picking up his Duel Disk, she flicked off the dust that had attached itself from the floor after he had dropped it. "There are people who would literally kill for this opportunity." A few actually had and made no headway for the action. "What have I got to show for it? This wasn't what I came here for. Yliaster shows up so I had to stop them."

"And you don't think that that's earned you a chance?" Grabbing his arm as he walked past, Akiza tried to force Yusei from his daze. "You made sure the King of Games didn't end up being somebody who wasn't the right person, faced death several times this week and didn't even have a mental breakdown when Musume told us the rest of the story." She had taunted them with pieces years ago but the full truth was almost enough to break the strongest of fighters. Akiza was repressing her role in things to keep going until she had time to really deal with the truth.

"Let Jack have it, or Crow." Although he valued and respected Leo, Yusei was ready to admit that he wasn't strong enough to beat both of his brothers just yet. "I'll be gone in a few months. It should be somebody who can make a difference. I'm not the right person." Gently taking his shaking hands, she cupped them gently between her own and held on until they steadied.

"Yusei," Using the tips of his own knuckles, she gently pushed his chin until he could look at her in the faded light of the tunnel. "You've done so much for so many people. There isn't anybody else who I can think of who has earned this as much as you." In the dim lighting of the tunnel, she was exceptionally tender to the dying man.

"Eight years, doing everything I can for everyone." Smiling sadly, he only regretted the choices he hadn't made. "Why does it still feel like I don't deserve this?" Reaching up, she gently rubbed a thumb across his cheek, noting the smooth skin of the old criminal mark he wore as a badge of honour.

"Maybe it's time that you finally did something for yourself." It was rare that the terminal patient gets a second chance so Yusei decided not to wait for chance and chose his own path. Leaning down with her hand still on his face, Yusei gently pressed his lips to Akiza's. There was a moment – just a moment – when she almost pulled back before deciding she wasn't going to, that she didn't _want_ to. It wasn't pity for his few remaining days, gratitude for everything he had done or even a prize for his accomplishments. For an instant, she felt like a mighty storm gripped them both right at the centre and had enough power to simply wipe away the planet like dust beneath a cosmic breeze.

"I should have done that a long time ago." Stunned by the return to her senses, Akiza realised that she was resting her forehead against his and breathing heavily.

"Yeah." Balancing on the tips of her toes, she swayed against him slightly. Breathing in, she was aware that his jacket still smelled faintly of oil and burnt metal. No matter what he did, it always had that ineffable sensation of speed about it. "I'm glad you did." Leaning down again, she stopped him with a gentle palm over his beating heart. For somebody who had kept calm with the future of humanity at stake, it was beating terrifyingly fast. Closing her eyes, she pressed against him tightly and felt both arms wrap around her to hold them close together. She wondered what had happened in Musume's history to push her away from Yusei and towards Crow before discarding the thought. It didn't matter now.

"What if we just walked away?" Stroking her back, she could hear the gentle laughter in his voice. "Tell Jack that Yliaster made fun of his Runner and Crow they laugh about his height and let my brothers finish them off." Chuckling against his chest, she gripped the fabric tight enough to distort it beneath her fist. She was afraid of what might happen when the embrace ended and wasn't ready to stop.

"It might work. I have a friend in Germany who owns a cabin. We could probably hide from the fallout." It was a childish notion they were putting too much thought towards. "Of course, we'd have to go to New Domino first. Pick up Hoshi." At roughly the same time they were huddling in the tunnel, Trudge was sitting perfectly still on his sofa as Yusei's cat nestled on his lap. Any noticeable movement caused her to stop her contended purrs and extended her claws into his skin as they both patiently waited for the television to start showing the Duel between the Stardust and Blackwing Duellists. Mina was sitting on the other side of her partner and laughing right to his face.

"Of course. You know, I've never actually found out how I'm meant to quit. That was just something for somebody else to sort out." Smacking him lightly on one muscled pectoral, she forced the notion from her mind.

"You should probably get out there before the fans begin rioting." What many fans seemed to ironically forget was that the word 'fan' was actually an abbreviation of 'fanatic'. Rioting was practically a requirement to be an active fanatic. "We can walk away after."

"Oh?" Leaning back an inch, Yusei cupped her chin beneath his right index finger and tilted it until she looked him in the eye, just like she had done minutes before. "Hoping that maybe somebody better wins?" It was light and jesting but she knew a large part of his was terrified the risky gamble was going to lose Akiza to Crow. It was hard to realise why, with their daughter from another future waiting from the gallery across the field.

"Maybe." Coyly leaning up, she pulled his head into the crook of her neck to whisper into his ear. "Between you and me, Crow's earrings were always a deal-breaker." Grazing his cheek with her lips as she stepped away, Akiza strapped the Duel Disk to his arm. "Of course, being the next King of Games could be enough to overlook that." Yusei tucked his Deck into the slot, smiling at the obvious ruse.

"Would it be enough if I made him get a nose piercing?" Turning him towards the bright lights of the main tunnel, she began pushing a resisting patient towards the light. "I could probably convince him to trade – I forfeit, he gets seven facial accessories?" Shoving him out into the light, Akiza continued to laugh as he walked up the ramp towards the first match of the finals and she hurried back to their friends.

Pausing near the mouth of the tunnel, he looked out over the great sea of faces. "I don't know if you can hear me." Speaking softly, he hoped that there weren't any microphones anywhere nearby to hear his crazy plea. "Maybe there isn't anything _to_ hear me. But if – just for these Duels – our Decks could stay the way that we put them together..." Trying to think of what he could bargain with to a force or entity capable of changing them mid-Duel in the first place, he came up empty. "It would mean a lot." Prayer over, he stepped out into the light of the day and the roar of the crowds.

* * *

Hearing the fans start screaming outside, Crow's head jerked up to see Yusei waving at the crowds, an absent smile on his face that usually appeared when Jack and Crow were fighting and Yusei was thinking of something else.

"About time." Walking out his own ramp, the shouting tripled in volume with both Duellists now on the field and several people actually fainted in the crowds. Walking out across the stadium, the two brothers finally met in the middle and exchanged friendly nods.

" _Ladies, gentlemen, Duellists of all ages!_ " Booming out from the tournament speakers, they could hear a familiar voice coming from the booth on the far side of the field from their friends. " _Everybody listen!_ "

"Is that Ackah?" Pompadour hanging a little lower, voice a little hoarser, Bernard Ackah – their old MC since all the way back in the Fortune Cup – was visible through the clear glass.

"Sounds like it." Waving up at the box, the pair got a hearty wave in return.

" _It's been some time since we've seen Yusei Fudo and Crow Hogan working in the same tournament,_ " With anybody telling the truth about the WRDGP basically committing career suicide, Ackah was keeping the secret hidden in plain sight. " _It has been far too long. How are you both doing?_ " Even from across the vast distance between them, it was possible to understand the universal hand wobble of 'not bad'. " _So, a Duel with the King of Games title on the line. Brother against brother. Any words you have to say, any punches to be thrown before the match?_ " Hurrying across the pitch, a technician handed a microphone to Crow. As the challenger and lower ranked Duellist, he was given the gift of speaking first.

"I told Jack I was coming for him," The words echoing out of the stadium, Jack hardly took any notice as he poured himself a fresh cup of coffee. "If I have to go through Yusei, that's fine by me." Mixed cheers and boos sounded in the crowd as he passed the microphone across. It was pleasing to hear more cheers than not.

"That's a real shame." Smiling sideways at his ginger brother, Yusei made sure to pick his words carefully. "Because I plan to Duel Leo once I'm through with you." It took a second for the crowd to catch on but they jeered harder at Yusei than they had at Crow. To a lot of the present watchers, Yusei was the Duellist who had beaten Jack Atlas by sheer luck and retired before anybody could take him down. By contrast, Crow was the overly posturing newcomer from the Tag Duel leagues who had barely enough experience to hold a Deck.

They tended to get their science and news from the same biased television channels so nobody really paid any attention to them.

" _I cannot believe what I'm hearing!_ " Handing the microphone back to the technician, Ackah began his narrations as Yusei held out his Deck for Crow and received the same in return. " _It's true what they say: keep friends close and family closer!_ " Shuffling the cards, the two brothers did a quick rendition of 'where's the card gone? It's mine now' before handing them back with wry smiles.

Somewhere hidden nearby, the dark ally who had led them through the storm and granted Musume the advanced Duel Runner was swinging legs and holding a tub of popcorn. They weren't actually eating it but occasionally throwing a handful against the mask to keep the feel of the event and scattering the rest about for the birds. It didn't have the best seat in the house but it was close and every detail in the match ahead would elicit a tiny shiver of joy.

"If I win, you have to fight Jack whenever I want you to." Without the microphone present, Crow and Yusei could finally level the real bets of the Duel.

"Fair enough. Give me a minute and I'll think of something for you." Sliding his Deck into place, Yusei smiled at his brother. Neither was above petty psychological tactics but they were fair enough to only stoop there after the other one had already gone.

" _Before we begin, there is a special message to show, recorded by Pegasus himself!_ " On screens around the stadium and in the broadcast feed, the flamboyant face of the creator of Duel Monsters appeared with a broad smile.

" _Hello, world of tomorrow!_ " Spreading his arms wide, he had perfectly gauged the reaction of the future generation of the world he had created and waited only a few seconds more than the applause lasted. " _This tournament has hopefully been the most thrilling one you have ever seen. I personally spent thousands of hours going over every detail._ " Slight wrinkles were in place around his eyes. It could have been squinting at fine print and maps for several days or this message could have been recorded later in his life. "T _rials of Puzzles to test ingenuity, the Legend of Duellist Kingdom to push each Duellist to the very edge of their abilities and Riding in Duellist City._ " Paranoid time-travel fanatics would claim that Pegasus must have been told of Duel Runners by somebody from the future but original plans for the third stage of the tournament detailed how competitors would have to make it to certain areas within a time limit to be allowed to Duel whoever else made it in time. " _I have had the pleasure of knowing Yugi Muto and Jaden Yuki._ " That meant this video had been recorded somewhere after 2006 when Pegasus visited Duel Academy to chase a renegade card designer who had stolen a prototype copy of The Winged Dragon of Ra. " _Fine Duellists the both of them. We are here today, in the last stage of the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament (naughty me to name it after myself, I know), to find the one Duellist who stands above all others. A champion in not just Duel Monsters but survival, able not to just overcome mental strain but endure it across a continent. To work as part of a group but also stand alone. The King of Games!_ " Finishing the video by starting a set of applause that wouldn't end until a lifetime had passed, the cameras focused on the field again as the enormity of their Duel finally struck the two Duellists.

" _Crow Hogan will take the first turn of the Duel, as is customary for the challenger._ " Reaching his place at one end of the field, Crow turned and slipped the first five cards from his Deck. " _Let's do this!_ "

(Turn 1)

Crow: LP: 4000 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

Yusei: LP: 4000 Hand:5 Field: None Graveyard: None

It was a good thing for Yusei that Crow had been given the first turn. Blackwing monsters were some of the most versatile, able to swarm the field, help one another and interact in numerous ways. They could put Yusei on the defensive from his first turn – if Crow knew what to plan for.

"I set one monster and a card." Blackwing – Ghibli the Searing Wind wasn't much protection but Blackwing Revenge was a Trap that would summon a pair of Level 2 Blackwing – Black Crest Tokens to his field if a monster with 1000 ATK or less was removed and Ghibli fitted nicely into that category. Crow knew that Yusei could tear down any defence he could put up so he was playing right towards that angle.

(Turn 2)

Crow: LP: 4000 Hand:4 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Yusei: LP: 4000 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

"Draw." It was always difficult trying to figure out how Crow would take the state of play. Much like his monsters, the Blackwing Duellist could adapt to any situation. That set monster could be Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honour, setting up for a Synchro monster further along in the Duel. It could also be a harmless D.D. Crow. "I set two cards and summon Bright Star Dragon (L4/1900 ATK/1000 DEF)." As the plated dragon appeared on his side of the field, Yusei could feel he was being baited into a trap. There wasn't much left for him to do but dive in with both feet. "Bright Star Dragon, shine a light on that hidden monster!" Flaring wings to carry it higher into the air, the monster gained a sparkling radiance that pierced through the hologram.

"Blackwing Revenge!" As Ghibli flew into the great beyond, Blackwing Revenge conjured up two Level 2 Blackwing – Black Crest Tokens with 800 DEF each.

" _Wow, is Yusei going easy on his friend or did Crow just lure his foe into a trap?_ " Up in the sound booth, Ackah was whipping the crowd into a frenzy with his incredibly accurate commentary.

(Turn 3)

Crow: LP: 4000 Hand:5 Field: 2 Monster Graveyard: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap

Yusei: LP: 4000 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

"You'll have to do a lot better than that." One of those cards had to be a Trap that relied upon a Synchro monster. They both played heavily towards that area so Yusei would be ready for it. Of course, that was only if Crow wasn't going somewhere else entirely. "I tribute one of my Blackwing – Black Crest Tokens." Floating up into the air, a tiny symbol of the Blackwing emblem burst into flame and the ash quickly began forming a new shape. "To summon Blackwing – Sirroco the Dawn (L5/2000 ATK/900 DEF)." Bursting out in a swirl of warm wind, the monster could be summoned without a tribute but only if Yusei had a monster and Crow didn't.

"I'll set two cards and end my turn." "Sirroco, take down his Bright Star Dragon!" Sirroco soaring up into the air, Yusei took the first blow of the finals as the crowd roared their bloodthirsty approval from the stands.

"Nice move." Yusei meant it. Even if Crow lost – and he had a good chance at winning – to strike the first blow of the finals would go down in the history books.

(Turn 4)

Crow: LP: 4000 Hand:2 Field: 2 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap

Yusei: LP: 3900 Hand:4 Field: 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster

"I summon Tricular (L2/600 ATK/1200 DEF) in defence mode." Skidding to a halt, the stocky monster had the ability to summon Bicular if it was destroyed, which would bring out Unicycular in turn. He could hopefully make it to the next turn and have a monster waiting. "I set one card and end my turn." With shouts and bellows of random advice sounding around the field, it was possible to understand why some people thought Yusei was being pushed back but he had a knack of turning the tables at the last minute.

" _Is that all? Maybe Crow has his brother in a tighter spot than we thought!_ " It certainly looked that way as Crow took up his turn again.

(Turn 5)

Crow: LP: 4000 Hand:3 Field: 2 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap

Yusei: LP: 3900 Hand:2 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster

Yusei was planning something. Flicking out his new card, Crow spared it a thought before returning to the evaluation of his opponent. Jack might be the only one who could take him on in a battle of sheer skill but Crow might have a slight edge when it came to planning. "I activate Delta Crow – Anti Reverse!" Flipping up the Trap card he had set on his last turn, a strong gust began circling the stadium. "It destroys all your set Spell and Trap cards." Caught in the gale, Crow watched Synchro Prominence and Advance Draw get sucked away by the wind.

"I activate D2 Shield!" Just before an eddy could tear it apart, a ghostly copy of Twin-Shield Defender floated down and took up stance in front of Tricular.

"Not bad." Watching from up in the box, Jack was admiring the skill of his rival. D2 Shield would double the defence points of any one defence position monster Yusei had for one turn and would allow him to draw a card if that monster was destroyed. "Let's see the little man overcome this one."

"Smart move." Crow's timing could have been better itself. If he had activated Anti Reverse at the end of Yusei's turn, D2 Shield couldn't have been activated. Anti Reverse only destroyed cards, it couldn't negate their effects. "I summon Blackwing – Fan the Steel Chain (L2/500 ATK/800 DEF) in attack mode." Dressed in flowing robes, headband and trailing two throwing knives, Fan the Steel Chain was every inch a ninja Blackwing. "You know as well as I do how this will go down."

"Then come at me, _bro_." With that accurately timed and archaic choice of insult, Crow launched Sirroco the Dawn across the gap to tear a wheel from Tricular and let it morph into the next devolution with only 500 ATK and DEF.

" _What's this?_ " Seeing the monster launch across the field, Ackah could hardly believe his eyes. " _Crow Hogan has used the ability of Blackwing – Fane the Steel Chain to directly attack Yusei Fudo!_ " With a perfect balance between Crow's offence and Yusei's defence, an attack on Bicular would leave them both without injury. This way, Crow could wriggle himself an extra advantage. " _Look at this folks, Crow Hogan has the legendary Yusei Fudo down by almost a quarter of his Life Points without even a scratch on himself!_ " Cheers were rising in the crowds now, enjoying the spectacle if not the actual Duel.

(Turn 6)

Crow: LP: 4000 Hand:2 Field: 3 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

Yusei: LP: 3400 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster Graveyard: 2 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap

"Was that you trying?" Most people threw down a gauntlet but Yusei had mastered the art of simply hitting the opponent in the teeth with it instead. "Maybe you should actually do something that won't leave me half-asleep." It had been tough working through the defensive phase but he was ready to pick up and push back. "Let me take a turn in the driver's seat." Slipping his card out between two fingers, he showed it off to Crow for a moment.

"Damn." Standing proudly between the two gloved fingers was a slight orange figure. Junk Synchron was a Level 3 Tuner monster with the extra ability to call up a Level 2 or lower monster from the graveyard. And the monsters it could synchro summon were not the kind to be taken lightly.

"I tune my Level 3 Junk Synchron with the Level 2 Bicular. These stars come together to call back an old power." Appearing in the blast of light, his old ace monster slammed onto the field. "Come, Junk Warrior (L5/2300 ATK/1300 DEF)!" It was an easy choice between Sirroco – with the higher offensive power – Fane the Steel Chain – with the ability to change the position of a monster following a direct attack, courtesy of the special ability – and the plain token. "Junk Warrior, take down Fane." Drawing back the right fist, Junk Warrior jetted across the field and smashed through the crossed blades Fane threw up to defend itself.

" _Look at that. In just one turn, Yusei has managed to synchro summon a monster and deal a severe blow to his opponent!_ " With the smoke clearing, Crow had taken a beating and Yusei was setting a card.

(Turn 7)

Crow: LP: 2200 Hand:3 Field: 2 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

Yusei: LP: 3400 Hand:1 Field: 1 Monster 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 4 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap

What did he have? Sirroco, not quite strong enough. A Blackwing – Black Crest Token, not really useful. There was a card set on his field but it was nearly useless at that moment. Two of his cards were useless but there was one that could possibly give him a fighting chance. "Reload!" Slamming down the card, he was allowed to draw a fresh pair of cards. Much better. "It's been fun." Slipping out the first monster, he risked everything on that turn. "I summon the Level 1 Tuner, Blackwing – Oroshi the Squall." A Level 1 Tuner, Level 5 monster and Level 2 Token. Yusei could count to eight as well as Jack.

" _Could it be? Is Crow Hogan about to leave his foe in the dust with his ace monster?_ " Around the world, fans started cheering him on. It was a nice feeling. " _Let's see it – the legendary Black-Winged Dragon!_ "

"It's been fun. Let this darkened whirlwind reveal the wings of my ambition!" Swirling around the stadium and obscuring the view, a black tornado cloaked the two brothers, two rivals in the eye of the storm. "Soar to my side, Black-Winged Dragon!" Screaming and howling in rage as it emerged, Crow hadn't even touched the card since his loss in the Shadow Duel. It would have been too soon for anything else. Instead, he felt the normal surge of exhilaration. Curling around him, the monster howled into the silence of their private space. It boasted a powerful 2800 ATK, stronger than Stardust but weaker than Red Dragon Archfiend. If Crow Dulled Jack, it could easily be powered up to become more than a match.

"Trap Card, Card of Sacrifice." A beam of light shot between from the mighty dragon, ricocheted off Junk Warrior and struck Yusei's Deck. "As the total ATK of my monsters is lower than the lowest ATK of yours."

"You get to draw two cards." It was a desperate play. Yusei had been planning on when the tables had turned against him to try and eke out a fraction more room to breathe. "Black-Winged Dragon, reduce that Junk Warrior to scrap metal!" Cowering down as the shards of metal flew about him, Yusei knew that the seconds left to that Duel were rapidly draining away as Crow shortened the gap between them.

(Turn 8)

Crow: LP: 2200 Hand:1 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 4 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

Yusei: LP: 2900 Hand:4 Field: None Graveyard: 3 Monster, 4 Spell/Trap

It was the worst feeling, to know there was only a way to – at best – delay Crow but nothing to gain a foothold himself. "I lay one card." Closing his eyes, he listened to the jeers of the crowd and felt the pace of his Deck. It was coming, it had to be. For either him or Crow.

Victory.

(Turn 9)

Crow: LP: 2200 Hand:2 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 4 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

Yusei: LP: 2900 Hand:3 Field: 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Monster, 4 Spell/Trap

It was obvious that the face-down was Scrap-Iron Scarecrow. Yusei planned to stop an attack and survive into the next round where he could make another move. There were only two cards in his hand – Blackwing – Abrolhos the Megaquake and Blackwing – Kochi the Daybreak. Abrolhos was a Level 7 monster currently beyond his ability to summon but Kochi would be able to serve as a decent shield in an emergency. "I set one monster." Keeping it hidden behind an obscured 1500 DEF, Yusei might be reluctant to attack it. That left the question of attacking. Why not? He had nothing to lose. "Black-Winged Dragon, attack him directly."

" _Our team of analysts reckon Yusei's face-down card is Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, able to block one attack a turn._ " Everybody laughed as the wind howled around Yusei, who kept his eyes closed through the gale. " _What's this?_ " Against all expectations, the blow had landed and left Yusei with a meagre 100 Life Points. " _It looks like Crow Hogan will be advancing to the next round! I'm sure some out there were worried after his early loss but worry no more!_ " Somebody was worried about the turn of events. Crow remembered every single card in Yusei's Deck and knew that he rarely bluffed without a trick up his sleeve. If he had only used Kochi to attack, it could have maybe been over in that turn.

(Turn 10)

Crow: LP: 2200 Hand:1 Field: 2 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 4 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

Yusei: LP: 100 Hand:4 Field: 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Monster, 4 Spell/Trap

Finally opening his eyes, Yusei stared at the card he had drawn without looking. This wasn't what he needed but it was one that could bring him what he did need. "Tuning, activate." This Spell allowed him to add a Tuner to his hand by then removing cards from his Deck equal to that monster's Level. "I choose Hyper Synchron." A Level 4 monster, four cards were lost to the graveyard – Urgent Tuning, Sonic Chick, Debris Dragon and Silver Wing. All the cards that had carried him this far.

"A good choice." Hyper Synchron gave an inherited effect to the Synchro monster it summoned. An extra 800 ATK and the ability to survive any battle but it would be removed from play at the start of Yusei's second turn after it was summoned. Crow had been expecting something along those lines. It had always been leading up to this, dragon against dragon, Stardust against Black-Wing, Crow against Yusei. Everything he had always wanted.

" _This is it._ " Up high in the booth, Ackah was on the verge of having a heart attack. Literally. Years of living on the edge of his seat had left him with a dodgy organ and a constant prescription for the tablets in his pocket. " _Unless Yusei can find a trick to get himself out of this tight spot, it will all be over for him!_ "

"Are you ready?" Glaring across the divide, Yusei could feel history watching. History, and maybe more. "I activate the effect of Quickdraw Synchron!" A hole opened up in Crow's world at the unpredicted play. It was not what he had expected. "By discarding one card, I can special summon it to the field." A roundabout way of summoning the Level 5 Tuner, a sharpshooting cowboy in a resplendent torn cape quickly took up place on Yusei's side of the field. "Thanks to the effect of Wild Heart, I can special summon it when a monster is sent to the graveyard." This time, a Level 4 monster appeared on the field. A Neanderthal wielding a club, the only difference between it and an actual human ancestor were the pair of skeletal items that could have been the base for wings. "And because I have a Tuner monster on the field, I can special summon the Level 2 Quillbolt Hedgehog from my graveyard." With three monsters on his field, Yusei was starting to taste that electric tingle. "For my normal summon, I choose the Level 4 Hyper Synchron – you might remember it from earlier." With a ball of purple lightning glowing in one hand, the powerful blue monster finished a solid line of monsters between him.

" _Look at that! In just one turn, Yusei Fudo went from no monsters and seemingly no defence to having four monsters under his command. Even if only one can carry the title, I think both of these Duellists are worthy of being the King of Games._ " Slipping a pile from his pocket, Ackah swallowed it between sentences. Sweat was starting to build up on his brow and he was sipping at water like he might not make it to the next match. With his heart and the excitement of the Duels, it was possible he could actually collapse.

"I have to admit it, you really turned it around." Yusei had the ability to summon not just one but two Synchro monsters now. It didn't matter, Crow had seen it coming long ago. He could wait but it was more satisfying to do it now. "Trap Card, Fake Feather!" A steady glow built up around Black-Winged Dragon, centring on the jewel in its chest and the gap in its jaw. "I almost missed it when Delta Crow activated but there it was. From your graveyard, I activate Synchro Prominence!" Acting unprofessionally, Ackah actually let out a yell of excitement that echoed around the world before calming enough to give an accurate explanation.

" _By discarding a Blackwing monster from the hand, Fake Feather allows a player to mimic the effect of a Trap from the opponent's graveyard._ " Throwing Abrolhos away, the pair stood with empty hands and no backup plans. It was the endgame." _Synchro Prominence inflicts a thousand points of damage to the opponent for each Synchro monster on the field._ " Up in the viewing box, Musume was chewing through her right index knuckle – the middle finger still healing from prior damage – Akiza was clutching at Luna's hand who was holding hers in turn. Leo was jumping up and down in glee and Jack would spend the next week denying all rumours that he had been seen muttering support to Crow.

Black-Winged Dragon roared, sending the energy directly towards an underwhelmingly calm Yusei as the entire stadium shook with the roar of the crowd. "You might have almost missed seeing Synchro Prominence." Pressing a button, he made his own move. "But I didn't miss you seeing it. Reflect Barrier!" A glowing silver rectangle appeared just before him, sending the beam straight back across the field to hit Crow in the chest.

"Clever move." Activating the effect of Black-Winged Dragon, the monster absorbed the damage for him by lowering itself to 2100 ATK. Though it would leave him open to a bigger attack from Stardust, the total amount of Life Points he would lose was actually less. Just not enough to get him through to another turn.

"I tune the Level 5 Quickdraw Synchron with the Level 2 Quillbolt Hedgehog." Spinning through a wheel of possible alternates, Quickdraw decided to take the place of one Junk Synchron for the summon. "I Synchro summon Junk Berserker (L7/2700 ATK/1800 DEF)!" Realising what was in store for him, Crow tried to think of a way out as Yusei continued his turn with the angry monster coalescing behind him. "Clustering wishes shall become a new star to illuminate through history." They had each adjust their usual summons for that Duel but this would be the one they talked about in the days that followed. "Become the light of my legacy, shine forever more." Merging the futuristic Hyper Synchron with the archaic Wild Heart, a pillar of light shook at the heavens and tore apart the sky. "Stardust Dragon!" Roaring to his right side, the two monsters took up flanking positions. Enhanced by the effect of Hyper Synchron, Stardust grew to a powerful 3300 ATK and seemed more imposing than before.

"Through the effect of my Junk Berserker, I can remove one 'Junk' monster from my graveyard from play to lower the attack points of one monster you control by that monster's attack." Junk Warrior – which had been the first turning point in the Duel – was pulled from the afterlife by Junk Berserker and hurled into Black-Winged Dragon, lowering it to a measly 500 ATK. "Stardust Dragon, take him down!"

"You know," With the enhanced cosmic energy building within the dragon, Crow readily embraced the defeat. "I almost had you there."

"You really did." As the stream flowed about his opponent, Yusei had ears not for the roar of the crowd but the pride of his brother's voice.

Game Over

Winner: Yusei Fudo


	14. Power VS Potential

It was not an unforeseeable result but the closeness had made it thrilling to everyone. Shaking hands respectfully, Yusei and Crow slowly walked back to the observation booth in grim silence. Losing the King of Games title had been difficult for Crow but Yusei had been the one to crush that dream and felt equally bitter about it.

"That was fun." Circling his face and pointing to the screens outside, Crow ducked by security on fame as Yusei simply flashed the lanyard from his pocket.

"That turn when you had me on the ropes?" Hearing the sound of a distraction behind them, the two brothers instantly ducked into rooms on either side of the corridor as security tackled an ambitious photographer and his sidekick in their attempt to barrel down the guarded corridor. After several tense seconds, they continued on their way as if nothing had happened. "I was really worried that you might beat me."

"I thought the same thing as Ackah." Scrap-Iron Scarecrow was one of the most useful cards Yusei had in his Deck and had helped him out of more tight spots than either could count. "Good bluff."

"Why do you think I kept my eyes closed?" It wasn't to help focus himself but because he knew Crow could have picked out the deception in his gaze. Hiking up the stairs, they puffed slightly near the top of the tenth flight. With elevators rigged with easily hackable cameras, they were taking the exercise to avoid any early photos being leaked. Both were healthy men but ten floors was still ten floors. Flashing their lanyards at the guards outside the door, they were allowed to enter the hallway and continue towards the room.

"Who do you think is going to win?" It was a tense question. Back when they had been Leo's age, the three brother's had been on the top of the Duellist world. Leo might have been on their level then but Jack had even more time to grow over the years.

"Ten on Leo?" Most gamblers tended to bet with money or property. Some Duellists tended to deal with cards instead. When it came to the band of brothers, they also accepted small favours into the mix to produce a nice pick-and-choose dynamic.

"Three on Jack." Pausing outside the door, Yusei gave a low whistle to indicate his disbelief. "Five? Five on Jack." There was being nice and then there was actively betting against a friend which Crow was dangerously close to doing.

"Five." Shaking his head, Yusei reached for the handle. "Unbelievable." Opening the door into the room, he ushered his brother in first as a human shield. Even though his own Duel was minutes away, it was inevitable that Leo would ambush the first body through the door and Luna would be right by his side. Jack would brood over his cups of coffee which left only one other person in the room.

"Congratulations." Reaching up, she wrapped both arms around his neck and pulled him in close where he could whisper in her ear.

"How about that cabin in Germany?" Pecking him on the cheek where nobody would see, she made sure to step on his toes at the same time as she moved away.

"That was still too close for comfort." Sneaking around the twins, she gave Crow a much briefer embrace. "Looks like Crow's almost caught up to you."

"Maybe next time." Clapping Leo on one shoulder, he glared across the room at Jack. "When Leo's got the title." Setting down the cup and saucer, the tallest figure in the room looked down on them from on far. "What's the matter? Chicken?"

"I can guarantee it won't be as close as yours." Inflating himself slightly with a deep breath, some deeply-embedded techniques kicked into action. "Leo and I are on an entirely different level to the pair of you." It was a cruel compliment. Crow couldn't retaliate without insulting Leo but they all knew Jack was really only speaking about himself. "Let's go." Striding into the lift, he at least waited for his opponent to join him before pressing the button for the bottom floor.

"Wow, if I could tell the old me that I would be Duelling you, I might have died from happiness." Even at a young and healthy age, the news might have very well have given him heart failure. "Hey, wait up." Coming back to his surroundings, Leo chased Jack down the tunnel. "I mean, I know I probably won't win but it's going to be fun all the same. How about a handshake for luck?" Stopping just out of sight of the crowds, Jack looked down at the extended hand with all the comfort of a live grenade.

"You're a good Duellist." Turning without shaking his hand, Jack walked to his place on the field. "But this is going to be over faster than the last Duel." It was far from the brotherly act the pair in the observation booth had put on. If Jack was to go at Leo with his full power from the very start, they could very easily end up scraping parts of the young man's ambition off the wall unless he was able to make a strong stand from the first turn.

(Turn 1)

Leo: LP: 4000 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

Jack: LP: 4000 Hand:5 Field: None Graveyard: None

"I summon Morptronic Clocken (L2/600 ATK/1100 DEF) in defence mode." Hiding behind the mechanical form of a clock, his mechanical monster had a useful ability. "By the effect of Clocken, I add one Morph Counter to it."

" _While in attack mode, each Morph Counter gives Clocken an extra 500 ATK._ " Other than the famous Speed World variants, counters were uncommon among most Duel Monster cards and often needed a quick explanation. " _Of course, Clocken can also be sacrificed to inflict a thousand points of damage to the opponent for each Morph Counter. What a start!_ " Ending the turn with a single set card, Leo was already becoming known as the plucky underdog to take Crow's old social stance for even daring to face up to Jack on an even field.

(Turn 2)

Leo: LP: 4000 Hand:4 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Jack: LP: 4000 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

It really wasn't Leo's fault but standing between Jack and Yusei was a sure way to anger the tall champion. "Twin-Sword Marauder (L4/1600 ATK/1000 DEF)." Sparing the syllables, he sent the dual-wielding warrior to strike down Clocken.

" _Wow, nobody is pulling their punches in these Duels!_ " Stabbing both swords through the monster, Jack's warrior carried the attack through to stab Leo in the chest slightly as well. " _Due to the effect of Twin-Sword Marauder, it can both inflict piercing damage and attack again once per turn._ " It wasn't exactly what Leo had been expecting but Jack had a Power Deck – he was almost certainly going to summon another monster and attack again either way.

"Morphtronics, Scramble!" Appearing from thin air, Morphtronic Celfon blocked the attack and managed to end the battle phase before Leo could suffer another dip in Life Points.

" _When suffering a direct attack, Morphtronic Scramble instantly ends the battle phase._ " Ackah was quick to explain the Trap to viewers around the world. " _It then allows Leo to summon up a Morphtronic from his hand!_ " Dropping a pair of cards, Jack also dropped another couple of notches of patience as Ackah delivered the final piece of information. " _And with his turn coming, Leo can use the effect of Celfon to special summon another Morphtronic monster from his Deck. What a move!_ "

(Turn 3)

Leo: LP: 3500 Hand:4 Field: 2 Monster Graveyard: 1 Spell/Trap

Jack: LP: 4000 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

"Time to use a lifeline and phone a friend." Beeping and whirring, the telephone handset unfolded itself and began dialling. "With the special effect of Celfon, I can now summon up a Morphtronic monster from the number of cards from my Deck that Celfon dials." Hitting a solid three, Leo slipped out the cards and examined the choices. Vacuumen would have been extremely useful against Jack's more powerful monsters but had only its special ability to defend with. His other monster was much more useful. "I summon Morphtronic Radion (L4/1000 ATK/900 DEF)." In true Morphtronic tradition, Radion had differing abilities depending on its stance. Defence mode granted all of Leo's Morphtronic monsters an extra 1000 DEF. Attack position boosted them with an extra 800 ATK. "For my normal summon, I think it's time to change the channel with Morphtronic Remoten (L3/800 ATK/1200 DEF)."

" _It looks like the Morphtronic Man is going to take a strong lead over the Turbo King._ " With his first monster powering them both up, Leo was quick to unfold a one-two combo with the machines, knocking Jack down to a lower level than Leo. " _Were those two face-downs just for show or does Jack have a plan in the works?_ "

"Docking strength with courage to showcase the next generation!" Merging Remoten and Radion, the disjointed pace had allowed him to destroy an extra 100 Life Points. "Power Tool Dragon (L7/2300 ATK/2500 DEF)!" A part of him really wanted to see if he could bring out Life Stream Dragon but they had agreed not to go beyond the levels they normally used for competitions. "With the effect of my Power Tool Dragon, I can add one random Equip spell from my Deck to my hand. And the card is," Letting his Duel Disk select a card, he instantly put it into play. "Break! Draw!" Though the Spell relied upon Power Tool Dragon to destroy a monster to activate, the effect of Power Tool let it survive an attack by sacrificing an Equip Spell. With that and Celfon still in play, Leo thought himself ready for anything as he added an extra card to the mix.

" _Did you see that? Taking down a monster, inflicting the maximum amount of damage and then summoning Power Tool Dragon!_ " Guzzling water between appearances, Ackah was finding this Duel more stressful than the last. At least Crow and Yusei had been on comparable levels. Watching Leo fight Jack was almost exactly like a lion fighting a dragon. Interesting but certainly one-sided. " _Let's hear it for Leo!_ " With the crowds roaring about his shoulders and a childhood hero facing him down in the Duel of the decade, Leo was happier than he had ever been.

(Turn 4)

Leo: LP: 3500 Hand:2 Field: 2 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster

Jack: LP: 2200 Hand:4 Field: 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster

"You had your chance." A dramatic breath of wind blew Jack's coat around him as he stood with an almost empty field. "It's my time now." It was a feat of brilliance that Leo had managed to make it even this far. In calmer times, Jack could even admit the brilliance of his young opponent. But it was a candle to the inferno of his power. "I special summon Vice Dragon (L5/2000 ATK/2400 DEF)." Spreading both wings, the creature seemed to shrink in size as it came onto the field.

" _Due to the effect of Vice Dragon, it can be special summoned when the opponent has a monster and the summoner has none at the cost of halving the original ATK and DEF._ " Seismologists detected the faintest of trembles, lost amidst the roar of the crowds and drumbeats of their feet. Up in the booth, something stirred deep inside Musume. It could feel the old chamber, the last place it had been chained. Not entirely captured but still on such a tight chain. Almost preferable to the current container were it not for the chance of a body and total victory.

"For my normal summon, I chose the Level 3 Tuner, Dark Resonator." Smashing a tuning fork, the flowing black cloak buried it tightly into the ground and dissolved into a circling trio of rings. "You're just getting in my way." It was a low point, his normally rigorous self-control slipping far away again. "Let's move him aside, Red Dragon Archfiend!" Cracking forth from the ground, it billowed up in a stink of cooking stone and raw power and Musume had to resist the urge to claw apart the walls in response to the danger inside her. She had only created a way to avoid choosing one side or the other of the conflict for a short-lived suicide plan. Now she was having to suppress the wild impulses with sheer will alone. "From my hand, I activate Red Dragon Vase. Because I have Red Dragon Archfiend, I can draw two cards." What appeared in his hand were the best cards he could have asked for. "It's time you saw the difference in our power." That look on his face was the sort that had preceded countless victories. 'Countless' unless you were Leo and had watched everything Jack had ever been in.

"Morphtronic Bind!" Throwing up the Trap, Leo walked right into the one Jack had set for him. It wasn't his fault. Jack was just far better at playing psychological games than Leo was at seeing them. "All of yours monster Level 4 or above cannot attack or change their battle positions."

"Through the effect of my monster." A giant jaw erupted from the ground directly underneath the new card and Leo stumbled back with a yell of surprise. "I can destroy a Continuous Trap to special summon Trap Eater (L4/1900 ATK/1600 DEF)." From where Leo was standing, there was still a chance to survive. Power Tool Dragon would be able to survive by sacrificing Break! Draw! and there were plenty of other Equip cards he could use to gain an advantage on the next turn. "From my hand, I activate Double Summon." Everything was in the name. "And I now summon Strong Wind Dragon (L6/2400 ATK/1000 DEF)." Appearing in a gust of wind, Leo was just lucky that the tribute hadn't been a dragon-type monster. Strong Wind Dragon had an effect which absorbed half the ATK of a dragon-type tribute.

" _What's this? Is Jack about to strike back and even the playing field?_ " But Leo knew better. There was nobody as inherently obsessed with the various structures of Jack's Deck as he was. It wasn't the current state of play he had to worry about. If Jack was making a strong move now, it would be because there was going to be an even bigger follow-up.

"Let's tie up that dragon with some Fiendish Chains!" It was a powerful Trap that would negate the effect of one monster on the field and allow him to remove Power Tool Dragon from play easily. But then Leo realised that it would mean less total damage and he became very concerned because Jack would never pass up the opportunity to inflict the extra damage. "Watch out for blistering because here comes a Burning Strike!" That was the real move. The three brothers each had their own particular skill. Crow leant slightly towards swarming the field with special summons, Yusei shifted through Synchro monsters like it was as natural as breathing and Jack found his true calling in raw power. Each with a particular talent but all three were master strategists. "Take down that toy dragon."

Therapists opinions aside, Jack's family could clearly see he was backsliding into his anger. Musume was only a step away from writhing on the floor in agony at the ongoing attempt for something inside to get out. It had not been this way for as long as she could remember. Red Nova wanted back out and it finally had another way over trying to take control of her body. If this attempt failed, it would be weak for a while and she could sleep without hearing the constant screams. If it came much closer to succeeding, she would drive a knife into her brain and hope the supernatural fallout didn't level more than the city.

" _That might only be 100 Life Points but the best is yet to come._ " Watching from up in the box, Ackah felt genuinely saddened to watch Red Dragon Archfiend pulverise straight through Morphtronic Clock. Empowered by Burning Strike, it could inflict piercing damage equal to the difference between the 3000 ATK and the tiny 100 DEF. " _It looks like this is the end for Leo. There isn't a single card in his Deck that can overcome this situation._ " Up in the booth, the five watching members acted with one mind. Forcing the pain inside her under control, Musume was able to operate normally for a short period of time and she used every second of it to the fullest. Sensing the opportune moment, the dark finger spilt the last of the popcorn for the birds, grabbed a padded piece of luggage and began sprinting across the roof.

(Turn 5)

Leo: LP: 500 Hand:3 Field: 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 4 Monster

Jack: LP: 2200 Hand:4 Field: 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster

There wasn't even a card in his hand that could do anything for this situation. His set card had been designed to power up a now absent Power Tool Dragon. The cards in his hand were also useless – Morphtronic Cord and Power-Up Adaptor. Only his newest addition could provide any use. "I activate Magical Mallet!" It was a risky move but his only one. Magical Mallet allowed him to shuffle his entire hand – including the card itself – into his Deck and replace each card with a new draw. What he picked out was nothing spectacular but he could see a way forward.

"There isn't any way for you to win." With two dragons flanking him, it was impossible to think of Jack as anything other than the rightful victor. "Accept it."

" _Sorry, can we come in?_ " Barely audible over the triumphant cheers of the crowd at the imminent win they saw, Jack and Leo's eyes turned towards the small official box that their friends should have been in. " _You probably shouldn't do that._ " Turning to face the sound booth on the other edge of the stadium, they saw a minor scuffle going on behind the glass. Words were picked up by Ackah's microphone as he watched Crow choke out one lumbering guard as Musume simply lifted the other in one hand to convey the message that getting in the way was not a smart move.

" _Bernard Ackah._ " Somewhere in the stadium, a camera managed to focus on the first actual meeting between legendary MC Bernard Ackah and the legendary Yusei Fudo. " _Yusei Fudo. I'm so happy to finally meet you._ " Appearing at both his shoulders, the beautiful, smiling faces of Luna and Akiza were enough to stop him calling for more security. " _Is it alright if we borrow your microphone for a moment?_ " With everybody straining to hear the words, it was would only make the inevitable easier.

Looking around at the groups of friends, thinking about his contract and the team of security guards that could come crashing down any minute to clear away the entire mess, Ackah made his decision. " _Everybody,_ _ **LISTEN!**_ " Echoing around the world, the words brought entire streets of traffic to a halt. " _It's a grim situation for the Morphtronic Man with Jack Atlas having summoned two of his most powerful dragons to wipe him out. But he doesn't stand alone, for his friends have something to say!_ " Feeling the roar of the ground make the thick windows shake in their frames, he joyfully held the microphone out for Luna to speak into.

" _Don't give up now. This is everything you've been racing towards!_ " Almost rudely shoved aside by Akiza, the redhead was quick to bring out her own words of encouragement.

" _Everyone's cheering you both on. Show them what you can do!_ " Sliding between the two, Crow leant into the tiny sphere of sound.

" _Take him down!_ " With the three stooges down and Musume standing resolutely in the corner, it fell to Yusei to deliver the final words.

" _Leo?_ " Down on the pitch, they could see the seriousness of his face. " _You're facing one of the best Duellists who has ever lived. He has won more Duels than most people have ever played. Jack Atlas was the King of Turbo Duels and the toughest opponent I have ever faced. But I remember a young boy who once managed to get me caught in a stalemate._ " It had been an interesting trap when he first encountered the pair of Morphtronic Magnen's to block his attacks. " _That kid could stump me for a few minutes. With ten years of hard work and growth? Maybe, just maybe, that talented young man can stand on the same level as Jack Atlas._ " Applause, whistles and cheers drowned out the world as it cheered on the young Duellist.

From across the field, Jack carefully evaluated his opponent for the first time. Until then, Leo had just been an obstacle in his way. Now he was recognised as an opponent worthy of being wary of. "Show me what you can do." It was far from the epic words of encouragement his rival had given but they meant even more. With the tiny avenue of escape closed to it, Red Nova slunk back to the endless battle in Musume's soul as she was finally able to enjoy the Duel for the simple fun it was meant to be.

Licking his lips, Leo wondered exactly how wise his plan was. It might end his career to put up too much of a fight as the far junior Duellist but Leo was going to at least spend this one moment equal with his idol. "I summon Morphtronic Staplen (L4/1400 ATK/1000 DEF)." Unfolding from the office stationery, the monster seemed weak even in comparison to the average monster and existed far below Red Dragon Archfiend. But Leo wasn't planning on a straight fight. "From my field, I activate Megamorph." It was an Equip Spell that doubled the original ATK of the monster it was equipped with if the controller had less Life Points than the opponent and halved the ATK if they didn't. They each had a copy and knew the ins and outs of the possible ways to use the card – including to cripple the opponent, which Leo wasn't doing.

"What are you up to?" Jack was smart enough to know when something was afoot. Something that was about to turn the situation around.

"In addition to Megamorph." It was a risky card that he had started adding to his Deck after the incidents on Ark Cradle. If he was ever pushed all the way back to the wall, Leo planned to go down fighting. "I activate Morphtronic Rusty Engine." Attaching itself to the centre of the robot, the engine gave a choking roar as the monster screeched in pain with no obvious outward signs of change. "Staplen, attack Red Dragon Archfiend!" Laughter began sounding around the stadium for a moment until the cameras focused on Jack's not-laughing face. He looked something closer to sickly as Ackah hurried out an explanation.

" _Due to the effect of Megamorph, the_ _original ATK_ _of Staplen is doubled, still not enough to defeat Red Dragon Archfiend._ " On the field, Staplen wrapped itself tightly about Red Dragon's resisting limbs. " _But when the monster is destroyed, Morphtronic Rusty Engine inflicts the original ATK as damage to both players._ " Exerting the full scorching might of its limbs, the dragon tore the restraints to tangled shards of metal in the air as the meaning sunk in. " _Doubled by Megamorph, that makes it for an entire loss of 2800 Life Points – to both players!_ " There were no words to what went through Luna's mind. She was immensely proud of her brother and deeply worried for how this would affect his future as the shards of metal in the air turned and directed themselves towards the two players with the sounds of every bet in the stadium going up in flames.

Game Over

Result: Draw

* * *

All around the stadium and across the city, nobody spoke. An entire planet held breath as it waited for Jack to break the stillness. "Ha." Watching their monsters fade away, a single chuckle slipped from his lips. "Ha. Haha." Taking a deep breath in, humility and humour overcame him and the Duellist burst out laughing as he led applause at the audacious move.

This time, Musume voluntarily hugged Luna, Crow and Ackah pounded each other's backs as their excited laughter echoed across the globe. Akiza flung her arms around Yusei's neck as he swung her around in a tight circle. During one revolution, he thought he spotted a dark figure placing something on the floor by the doorway. On the next, it was stooped in a low bow and by the time he had enough control over the movement to stop, it was gone again and there was a solid wooden box beside the door. Down on the pitch, Jack and Leo were quickly escorted into the tunnels and hurried towards the booth as audience members jumped the barriers and began flooding the field.

"Hang on," Unable to stop the large grin from spreading across her face, Akiza kept one arm wrapped around Yusei as she tried to stop feeling dizzy. "Wait a second." It was too big an idea to grasp at once as a storm of guards deserted their posts to form a barrier around all entrances to the floor. It was something to be said for the group that they had been cheering on Leo's spiritual victory more than they had the real implications of it.

"Ackah, you sly dog." With the microphone turned off, Jack's reputation remained as urbane as ever. "Thank you for letting my friends speak." Walking across the room, he shoved Crow to one side and extended a hand to the MC. "I almost lost my way there." Ackah finally shook the hand of the man he had been narrating since his first professional Duel with a smile broader than his drooping pompadour was long.

"You okay?" Gripping Leo by both shoulders, Crow couldn't see any signs of sentience in his eyes. "Leo, speak to me!" Wrapping an arm around the young man's shoulders he tilted him back dramatically and covered his headband with the back of his left hand. "Alas, his mind has been crushed. We shall remember him fondly." Leo's mind wasn't broken but stuck like a track on a record. Like Akiza, he was grappling at the truth. Reaching past the pair, Yusei grabbed the stocky wooden box that had been left behind by the shadowy figure and carried the gurgling contents over to a chair in the celebrating room as they all sensed something important in the offing.

"What's that?" With Akiza placing a hand on his shoulder as the group carefully lent over the box, Yusei slid open the panel to reveal a pitted bottle that looked centuries old. Tucked between the neck of the bottle and the theatrical straw was a ting tag on the artificially aged string. On one side was a carefully drawn word in Japanese. _Congratulations_. On the other side was a phrase that hit Yusei like a blow to the gut. Endless streams of trivial information had been absorbed by his brain to keep various important people entertained and one of them was appropriately bubbling to the top of his mind.

"Champagne." Brushing a speck of dust from the glass, he reverently lifted the glass from the box like a monk with a sacred relic. "A _1907 Heidsieck Monopole Diamant Bleu_." Hurrying to a corner of the room, Ackah retrieved a handful of flutes from a tray. It had originally been planned for the technical crews to have a quiet celebration after the tournament with much, much cheaper champagne. "A shipment sank in 1916 on the way to Tsar Nicholas II. Two-hundred bottles were recovered intact in 1998." Reality seemed a minor distraction to Yusei as he unravelled the entire history. After being sunk by a German U-boat, the Swedish freighter _Jönköping_ had sunk 63 meters into the chilling waters and miraculously ended up at the perfect conditions to store the surviving bottles. Six atmospheres of pressure and near-freezing temperatures, shielded from light and undisturbed for decades until they were found by some lucky divers. "I heard only three bottles were left, in the possession of some collector. The market value is estimated at five-billion US dollars." The team crunched the numbers and came up with remarkable plans for the money. "Each." Fame and glory were all well and good but money is money and - even split seven ways - the contents of the bottle were a lot.

"I say we sell it." Crow didn't often like Jack's ideas but this one had merit. "Estimated at five means we can let it go for seven." Seven billion dollars disappearing in a second sounded an awful lot like a gentle pop.

"Who's up for a drink?" Incredulous eyes turned to see Yusei pouring the gently bubbling liquid into tall flutes that Ackah was quickly handing out. Holding the flutes in their hands, there was a slight tang of brine, oranges, lemon and caramelised banana. "Ackah, join us." Noting the lack of glass for himself, Yusei was firm with the tournament MC.

"Unfortunately, my duties call." Even being invited to attend was enough for the old gentleman. His part was played, his turn done. It had been fun but he knew where he stood and it wasn't as part of the celebrations. It was going to locate the nearest person who could professionally handle a camera before they stopped celebrating Leo and actually realised the full impact of his actions. Exiting into the hallway, he was careful to turn the lights on and leave the door open.

"Musume?" Holding a flute in either hand, Akiza was slowly becoming more adjusted to the young woman on the other side of her from Yusei.

"Thanks." Pattering out a mental command, she managed to convince the nanotechnology thriving through her body not to instantly purge the toxin from her system like it normally did. Out in the hallway, footsteps began sprinting towards the room as the seconds trickled by before the big realisation that was already haunting Jack hit the rest of the group.

"To Leo," Raising his glass to the young man, Yusei kept his tone suitably grave through the beaming smile on his face. "Welcome to the big leagues." Skidding to a halt in the doorway, one of the camera operators had stopped trying to describe the difference between film and photography when Ackah had explained the vital urgency for anyone with steady hands and an understanding of lighting to be in the announcer's booth in the next few seconds.

"Sorry," Fiddling with the settings, she cheated slightly and set them all to automatic as an auburn ponytail draped itself over one shoulder. "Photographer." Paused with their hands still in the air, the group burst out laughing at the moment of tension. They had almost expected Yliaster to try something crazy in an attempt to throw the tournament at the last minute. Catching that moment in eternity, the button on the camera started taking a pounding as the group fanned out slightly to let her get a better view of the proceedings.

"To the King of Games." Jack froze the group with the simple toast. Since he and Leo had ended in a draw, it meant they were in equal setting with Crow. "Yusei." Raising his flute a bit higher, humility kept him from throttling his brother in anger. If he had played his Duel against Leo instead of just trying to rush to Yusei, it might have ended differently. Yusei gave a gracious, some might say noble, inclination of his head in recognition of how hard it must have been for Jack as he raised his own glass.

"To Yugi and Jaden." For a brief moment, it was evident to Akiza that Yusei wasn't seeing the room he was in. As the light flashed again, Jack's words really sunk in and the group dissolved into another round of laughing cheers as the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament finally came to an unforeseeable, conclusive end.

 _ **More chapters should be along shortly-ish.**_


	15. Freedom from the Press

With the dark events shrouding their lives and the danger waiting around every corner, winning the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament had given the group a shining moment of joy in the middle of their torment. It didn't matter if Yliaster was still waiting, irrelevant that they had a dark new entry to the story of their lives. Laughing and having fun, the seven greatest Duellists of their age celebrated the undisputed crowning of the best and brightest Duellist as one of their own.

"I wish that Leo had given us some warning." Unlike her usual approach to anything with alcohol, Musume was gently sipping from her flute as she laughed and smiled with her whole family for the first time ever. "We could have made a killing on the bets." Not a single person had managed to win a gamble on the Duel between Jack and Leo. A few hundred plucky players had put money on Leo somehow winning but the vast majority had bet that Jack would win and nobody had wagered on a draw.

"Look at it this way," A pragmatist when it suited him, Crow was seeing an even funnier angle than the rest of them. "Because Jack and Leo drew, they tie with me for second place." It was a sobering thought for the tallest Duellist in the room. "We could always Duel to see who gets the bronze medal." Unable to help herself, Akiza burst into a laugh at the twisted expression on Jack's face. Being brought down by Leo was hard enough to accept but he was one more joke from using the champagne flute as the murder weapon with Crow playing the part of the recently deceased corpse.

"That will not be necessary." Striding in ahead of a pair of hulking guards, a young woman in a sharp suit clicked her fingers until the photographer left. It took one click.

"Are you sure?" Looking over the precisely cut black hair, expensive suit and instantly commanding air, Crow pushed his luck against the obvious tournament organiser. "It wouldn't take long."

"No, it wouldn't." Setting down his flute on a chair, Jack carefully gauged the powerful woman. "Leo can make short work of Crow."

"Ah, the legendary Atlas/Hogan wit." Cutting them both down to size, she quickly brought about an end to the argument. "As I said, another Duel will not be necessary. It was clearly stated in the rules that each match would only consist of a single Duel." With Leo muttering something about definitely not having read the rules and trying to weasel his way out from between the overwhelming pressure of both brothers, Musume tried to hide herself gently behind Luna and Akiza as Yusei was approached.

"At least one of them probably would prefer them you to refer to it as Hogan/Atlas wit." Not liking the particular vibes coming from the women, Yusei kept his tone polite but guarded.

"Hmm, that is unsurprising." Anybody seeing Jack and Crow in a conversation for more than five minutes would understand more than they wanted to about the pair. "At least their equal standing will make the press conference a little easier to distribute."

"Press conference?" Hearing the word, Leo's ears pricked up like a hunting dog's, Crow's eyes brightened and the scowl on Jack's face lessened slightly.

"Press conference?" Hearing the word, Yusei's mouth ran dry, Akiza tried not to think of how she would explain the limelight to the bureaucrats who would determine the state of her medical license and Luna wondered where she could find a screen to watch her family on. Unwilling to repeat the phrase a third time, Musume watched in amusement from her unnoticed peripheral position.

"Quite." With a carefully cultivated lack of humour, the young lady looked on as they all processed the information. "A stand will be in place at the north end of the field in thirty minutes. We have already had three attempted breaches so security has been tripled in all the nearby areas." For just the faintest moment, her right eyelid flickered in a flutter of expensive mascara and dubious motivations. "International news crews are already setting up but we have a small group in the lobby to take a few questions for posterity. Kame Game, KaibaCorp, Industrial Illusions, some of the teams you might have met throughout the tournament. They will be asking a few questions each to capture the moment for history." Smiling with all of the warmth of a shark, she eyed Musume over one shoulder. "Of course, we would enjoy hearing a few words from your guests as well. One big, happy family always brings up the ratings."

Intuition is underrated. Biologists, neurologists, psychologists, all manner of companies looking for that edge have been researching it for decades. Millions of people wanted to understand why the subconscious could provide a feeling of unease before the conscious could even grasp the problem. Something about this woman was curling in her gut like a new chew toy for Red Nova. Being a walking, talking prison for the warring spirits sometimes gave access to a wider, more esoteric view of reality. Nobody in the room had ever seen the woman before that day but Musume knew she was trouble. Nothing concrete but with more evidence than a bloody knife and a signed confession. All that flashed through her head in the time it took Yusei to say "We'll be right down."

"We look forward to seeing you all there." Subtle but powerful use of a plural. Giving clear directions but failing to actually give anything away. Using the power of authority and a distracting presence to detract from the way no name had been given. Even as the woman strode from the room, Musume could see a lot of shared qualities.

"I have to make a call." Lowering his flute to the tray, Yusei stepped back from the group slightly.

"Looks like I'll be going then." Depositing her own glass beside his, Musume pulled the riding mask from her pocket and slipped it back over her face again.

"What?" Although not fully adjusted to a reality only days old where she now had a fully grown daughter, Akiza also wasn't going to let Musume just walk out of their lives.

"What?" Slightly tipsy from her share of the alcohol, Luna took a moment longer to process the statement than the others. Leo carefully took her empty glass and added them both to the growing cluster on the side.

"Imagine a reporter pops the question 'Can you explain why your guest looks like a younger Akiza?'. What's your response?" Musume raised a good point. It was how she won every argument.

"We'll say you're my cousin." Akiza actually did have a cousin on her father's side. A falling out with her uncle meant that they hadn't spoken since before she learned to walk. "We all want you up there with us."

"I'm not going to put you all in danger just so you can get," Placing a silent finger to her own lips, Akiza shushed the question with a commanding air. "A dumb photo." Overriding the parental authority with rebellious youth, Musume finished the rest of her angry rant in a lame follow-up.

"Just do what your mother says." Tugging his jacket into place, Crow seemed oblivious to the looks he was getting. "It will be easier in the long run." Slight wisps of smoke were on the verge of breaking into existence as incredulous stares fixed him from every angle. "What?"

"Good advice, 'Dad'." It was not often that Jack managed to win an argument with brains but the simple quip was enough to force Crow to stop talking and retreat behind the safety of his phone.

"Is it me or are you lost as well?" Leaning towards his sister, Leo stumbled slightly. Both twins were lightweights and rarely drank. They weren't properly drunk but just slow to adjust. It would only last a few minutes but was dreadfully funny to watch.

"Okay, thanks." Closing his phone with a smile, Yusei rejoined the group. "Have you agreed to come up on stage yet?" It was the offhand way that Yusei believed Musume was just going to fall in line that earned him some extra hatred points in her eyes.

"It's not happening." Pushing Jack ahead of them both, Akiza guided Musume with a gentle touch on one elbow.

"What's the worst that can happen?" Blinking several times as they adjusted to the alcohol in their systems, the twins followed the adults through the door. Crow bashed his elbow into the frame as he walked through, all attention still on his phone.

"Thanks, I owe you... Of course." Trying not to think of the endless times he had heard the phrase as little as minutes before an explosion – with the record standing at a proud eighty-nine seconds – Yusei continued smiling to the phone pressed against his ear as he summoned the elevator. "Yeah, see you soon." Yusei finally joined the conversation as he placed his phone back into a pocket. "That sentence has never ended well."

"It's not often that I agree with Yusei but he might have a point." Pressed into the far reaches of the metal box between the two people she loved the most, Musume continued to argue for her privacy.

"Don't pay any attention to what he says," Still on his phone long after Yusei had put his away, Crow was only keeping one ear on the conversation. "Most of it is big words to sound smarter." Sensing eyes start to pry at his phone, he quickly finished what he was doing and put it away.

"Just because some of us utilise polysyllabic communication to imply increased neurological and academical cognition," It was maybe the single longest sentence Jack and ever used and it floored the argument. "Does not necessarily necessitate anything we utter is definitive to either extreme."

"What?" Even as they grew increasingly sober, Leo's intelligence didn't increase to anywhere near that of his sister's.

"Using big words to sound smart doesn't mean they're right or wrong." Feeling the booze buzz recede into a comfortable glow, Luna was still able to laugh at everything.

"Wait," Even the sharpest eyes have a blind spot somewhere and Musume just managed to catch a glimpse into hers as the lift opened. "I said I'm not going with you." At the end of the corridor was a pair of double doors that would inevitably open to the hubbub of a small conference on the other side. Even without Musume realising, Crow and Akiza had manipulated her into almost joining them.

"You guys go ahead," Holding the doors open with one hand, Crow indicated the others file out first. "Give us a minute." Assaying Akiza's fears with a firm nod, Crow watched his family cluster just outside the wooden double doors at the end of the hall.

"'m not going up on stage." Muttering sullenly beneath her breath, Musume made it clear that nobody could force her to do anything. "Can't make me."

"No, we can't make you do that." A twinge of nightmare flitted through his mind. "But we would like you to join us." Stepping out of the lift, he held out a hand just on the other side of the sensors that would hold the doors open. They both stared at the hand for a single long moment until the lift started to close again.

"Fine." Grabbing the metal panels, she curled her face into a useless grimace beneath the mask. "I'll hate every minute of it." There was the usual mixture of bland and surly looks as they rejoined the group.

"Are we all ready?" Gripping the handle on the left, Crow indicated she take the other as their friends all nodded in agreement. "Let's go." Stepping through the door was like walking into a thunderstorm. All flashes and roaring noise.

Directly ahead of them was a small raised platform only a few inches high with a single podium carefully arranged at the front where the suited woman was waiting with obvious impatience. Rows of reporters and photographers from every department of the major companies were waiting in attendance. From the view over the heads of the crowds, it was possible to make out the faces of their rivals around the large room. Team Unicorn, rumoured to have taken fifth place only a few seconds after Yusei had gained fourth. Team Turtle, Team Fury, both looking sick with jealousy. A scattering of individual opponents and faces from Jack and Crow's professional careers. Even some of the staff that had supported the competition from the beginning. It was even possible to identify that striking shade of blue suit from the Oceanside announcer. Clearly the excitement of the tournament had not infused him with a new sense of taste. There was also another figure present but not immediately visible. They preferred it that way.

"Now that we are all here," It was clear that their slight delay in convincing Musume to join had earned Team 5D's the wrath of the latest in a long line of unnamed and replaceable tournament officials. "We will be taking a few short questions for the Kame Game, KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions archives. Kindly try and keep your questions brief. A full press conference is scheduled shortly on the main field." Very often it is the things that are not said over the ones that are. A quick question was fast enough to disperse any possibility of the group on the stage realising what they had just missed.

"Yusei Fudo, how does it feel to be the third King of Games?" Cameras clicked and whirred as Yusei smiled like a hedgehog in headlights while the woman calmly stepped from the edge of the stage.

"Remember when you first found out that the world is spinning? All you can do is just look outside at all the trees and buildings standing still." Trust Yusei to try and squeeze in a science lecture. "It's easy to think of the words and numbers but the meaning takes a while to sink in. Ask me again in a week." Amidst another flurry of flashing lights and shouting voices, he stepped back from the podium for whoever would take the next question.

"Jack...dragon...Hogan...Runner...tournament..." Unable to hear for the constant babble, the group could only brace themselves against the wall of sound until somebody cupped both hands and shouted over the mess. "Who's in the mask?"

"An old friend of ours." Hurrying to the microphone, Luna was the quickest to formulate an answer/cover story. "She made it all the way to the finals so we invited her to watch Yusei, Jack, Crow and Leo Duel."

"Why did she forfeit to Team 5D's if she made it all the way to the finals?" Scribbling down a note, the almost too-normal reporter was clearly pushing for an angle. Suspicion instantly morphed him into a Yliaster Agent but there was no clear way to be sure. At least one silent onlooker imagined him bursting into flames.

"Let me get this one," Giving her voice a slight squeak to avoid anyone instantly making connections to Akiza, Musume moved Luna aside with a grip that was gentle enough not to rumple the cardigan but could move a small elephant. "For the record, you are insinuating that Team 5D's conspired to enter the biggest tournament in history, progress all the way to the finals with another group and then get the other team to drop out to bypass one round of the competition." When it was laid out in plain words, the scheme sounded insane. "Right up until the last round, there was a chance one of us might not make it. Nobody entered this tournament with the intention of giving up. But I knew that I couldn't beat any of them in a straight Duel so I decided not to waste either of our time or energy." Mild applause greeted the words as she returned to the background of the group amidst the screaming teams until another one rose to the forefront with a question, again aimed at Yusei.

"Is it true that you refused an offer to have your friends participate in the finals?" A pencil paused as it fished for the juicy story to add to the KaibaCorp archives.

"Not at all." Thankful that Leo at least had enough sense to keep his mouth shut, Yusei let Jack take the question. "Following the Duel with Team Turtle," A dangerous glimmer was in his eye at the satisfying memory of winning with a perfect three-Duellist combination. "Akiza and Luna were given the option of participating in the final round. Both of them turned it down because – though they were fully capable – it would have been unfair to the other competitors." It was the worst sort of interview that could happen. A humble winner who scattered praise across the fallen opposition, genuinely nice people turning down bribes and admitting it to the public. All fluff and no gritty details.

"What do you have to say to the rumours that your friends were also spotted by multiple Duellists across the country, sabotaging the competition?" Placing a hand on Jack's upper arm at that moment was like twirling a grenade by the hole in the pin but Crow did it anyway as Yusei rose up with the unstoppable might of a hurricane.

"Utter lies." All the reporters fell silent in the face of raw, unbridled authority. In all his years as a diplomat, scientist and public figure, Yusei had never been anything but patient and calm. Now he stood with the full force of his new title and stared down the modern economical equivalent of a serf with the imperious nature of a monarch. "If you ask anyone who actually spoke with them throughout the Legend of Duellist Kingdom, you will realise that they were giving vital aid to numerous teams without preference, prejudice or planning beyond how to help the most amount of people in the least amount of time."

"Da!" There was nothing like seeing three giant Russians with the ability to carry a bear on each shoulder crush corrupt media using only the deep rumble of their stoic voices. "Without their help, we would not have reached Riding in Battle City." They had placed seventh, barely twenty minutes shy of taking the place of Team 5D's. Even failing so close to the finish line, they were grateful to have received the chance at all. "They gave us supplies, aid and friendship. Tell us," Even from thirty feet away, Team Pobedonosnyy somehow hulked over the reporter. "Who has been spreading these lies?" Clinging to the laws – laws being imaginary rules that everybody followed and were about much use at stopping three angry mountains as sneezing hard – that protected news sources, he quickly lapsed into silence.

"Ivan!" Waving from the side of the crowd, Luna's smile turned the hulking grizzly into a blushing teddy bear as she waved across the distance. "It's nice to see you again." Gossip making one set of notes as political writers scribbled down another, the innocent act would surely blow into a minor storm before nothing came of it and it was forgotten again.

"Mr Hogan," A shorter reporter was standing on their chair to make direct eye contact. "Why did you hold back during your Duel against Yusei Fudo? By all accounts, you could have easily become the next King of Games."

"Easily?" Laughing as he stepped up to the podium, Crow was willing to accept his limitations as well as Jack. "Nothing was easy about that Duel. My brothers and I have Duelled a lot over the years and he always manages to wriggle his way out of a corner. I might be good at Duelling but Yusei can see five moves ahead of anyone else." Applause overwhelmed the group as Crow waited patiently for it to end. "Final questions." A fresh round of screaming was silenced as Leo singled out a handsome brunette to the back left.

"How would you describe your game-ending move against Jack and were you doing it to ensure Yusei won the title?" Sneaking an extra probe into the sentence, he lost any hope of being asked out for drinks once the interview was over.

"Being in the same Duel as Jack Atlas has been my dream since I was a kid studying at New Domino Duel Academy – Hi, Miss Bartlet!" Waving to a video camera, his old teacher on the other side of the world gave a damp chuckle at seeing how far her children were going. Good teachers tended to think of all their past students as part of the family. "When he told me I couldn't win, I really thought that it was the end. But then my friends spoke to me," Dangling his gangly arms about the group, Leo pulled them all in close as more cameras clicked. "And I realised it didn't mean he had to win either. Clearing the road for Yusei didn't even occur to me until afterwards."

"Do you think that you are ready for the pro leagues now?" A gorgeous blonde with a deliberately tight shirt open a button too far hoped to trip up the enthusiastic young man with feminine wiles.

"Nah, I can't keep up with them just yet." Unabashed and unaffected, Leo was honest to a fault. "Crow's old team invited me along for a few practice runs. I'll be starting as a benchwarmer with them in a few months. Just wait though, I'll be back."

"Picture time!" Overriding the shouts or more questions with a single command, Luna drew the press conference to the final stage as she gathered her family together into the frame for the photographers. Grabbing each of his brothers by a shoulder each, Yusei forced them apart and tried not to think about the inevitable 'buddy cop' pose they had been going for as Akiza dragged their newest member into position between herself and Crow with Luna on the far end. It made for an impressive array. Twins on one end, Jack and Yusei taking the middle of the stage with Crow on his left and Akiza at the far end, squeezing their newest member between them as the flashes of blinding light came.

There was something in that moment. It was a bubble of calm in the sea of madness. Even after all the tricks and traps that Yliaster had pulled, the group had decided not to give up on living their lives by their own choices. Reaching up, Musume slowly pulled down her mask and ruffled her spiky hair back into its normal fashion. People would inevitably draw comparisons but they would have found out sooner or later. Against her previous objections, she was willing to give her family something to remember her by. If the time paradox did finally erase her, maybe one of the pictures would last. Wrapping one arm around Akiza's shoulders and her right arm around Crow's, Musume gave a genuine smile to the cameras. Yliaster would have discovered her face at some point. She was going to make sure it was done on her terms.

"That will be all for now." Stepping onto the stage, the authoritative woman took control with a single chilled look and cut short all the camera flashes. "If you would kindly make your way to the field and join the other reporters, we will be holding the full press conference in five minutes." Grumbling and moaning, reporters and Duellists alike were slowly shuffled from the room by several security guards. "I suggest you make the most of your time." Flanked by her personal guards, the young woman turned to face the group. None of the cameras in the room were able to see her front from the careful position. Specifically, the tight smile, flitting wink and eyes flicking in the opposite direction of the door the reporters had departed from. "See you soon." Putting that careful front back up, she turned and followed the reporters.

Looking at one another as the door closed behind the tournament official, they all weighed the implication. A few short questions for the founding companies of the modern world had been hard enough. An hour or more of fielding questions from every newspaper outlet from across the world was painful just to think about.

"Which way was it to the field again?" Feigning stupidity – and doing a remarkable impression of doing so – Musume wandered over to the subtly indicated doors and peered through into empty service hallways.

"It was," Slapping a palm over her brother's mouth until his brain could start working, Luna marched him in the direction of the door.

"I think this is the way to the team entrances." Pointing at the doors with an air of somebody unfamiliar with his surroundings, Crow led the drifting charge in the heavily implied direction they had been prompted. "Maybe we're meant to do another big reveal. Yusei?" Seeing his family already well on the way to escape, the personal thoughts in Yusei's head muttered something about screwing professional appearances and running out of the door. Professional thoughts blearily raised their head's from the mental equivalent of a fortnight-long sleep and agreed they were still on vacation so screw the consequences.

Both parts of his conscious – professional and personal – not in disagreement, Yusei was chasing his friends down the hallway before the doors had even closed behind them.

"What about the press conference?" Unused to actually being in the spotlight, Musume had no real understanding of the fallout of an angry newspaper.

"You remember what Yanagi said at the Fortune Cup?" Dodging around misplaced pieces of equipment and jumping over fallen items, Jack was unwilling to admit that he was actually having some fun just ditching all the responsibilities for once.

" _You have a new enemy_ " Everyone laughed at Akiza's querulous voice. " _The media~h!_ " Freedom beckoned in the form of a helpful sign up ahead. It was not the sort that they normally sought out but there was a clear reason to go through the doorway.

"It's nice to see you again so soon." Having loosened his outfit and recovered from the excitement to a degree, Ackah was waiting just outside the door labelled 'Staff parking'. "Somebody told me you might want a lift back to your hotel." Breathless at the headlong sprint down the corridor, smiles adorned the faces of all but the surly Jack and aggressively protective Musume.

"Do you have a plan?" Even from all the way down the compound, the angry shouts of the reporters were starting to get loud.

"Follow me!" Bursting out between the doors, Ackah let slip a small glimpse of the escape plan that had been put in place long in advance.

"Oh, he cannot be serious." Even with his carefree attitude, wide breadth of patience and vast sense of humour, Jack was struggling with the vision presented to him.

"Oh, I hope he is." If their escape vehicle was anything but the cherry on the cake, Crow would eat his headband.

* * *

In the single most ludicrous getaway ever, the entirety of Team 5D's, Team Meian and the impressively titled Pegasus Trinidad Tournament King of Games Duel Announcer Department were squeezed into a narrow five-seater hatchback. Ackah was a wise man with his money. The car could last him twenty years before anything vital would break and it was so nondescript that nobody gave it two looks. But no matter how efficient or long-lasting it was, nothing could overcome the problem of having only five seats.

"I still think we should have shoved Jack in the trunk." Sarcastic though Crow was, the point was clear. As driver of the innocuous vehicle, Ackah had a seat to himself but was the only one. Leo and Luna were illegally squeezed into the front passenger seat. Jack was curled slightly against the left door with Crow sharing the chair. Fiery to the end, Musume was crammed into the narrow middle section and was making do with even less available space than the others. Comfortably tucked to one side, Yusei was pressing himself as much against the right door as he could to give Akiza extra breathing room with the good doctor almost sitting on his lap.

"How did they find us so quickly?" Even with their unexpected early exit, the group had only managed to gain a five-minute lead over the reporters. If it hadn't been for the celebrating crowds spilling out onto the roads, the reporters' vans would have been on them in seconds instead of constant weaving to avoid hitting pedestrians and each other.

"Somebody must have tipped them off." Bobbing his pompadour out of the window, Ackah could see the news vans in the distance bearing down on the small group like a heard of rampaging rhinos.

"It must have been somebody at the hotel." Though they had little doubt the almost robotic hotel manager had kept their secret and probably most of the staff as well but there was any number of people who could be working on the periphery. Leo had been sniping from the fringes of professional tournaments long enough to know how to sniff out the secrets and didn't begrudge whoever had needed a quick and powerful payday from reporters desperate to get the first shot at the story.

"Okay," Levering his arm from behind Akiza's back, Yusei managed to pull his phone from one ear. "Kaneesha has arranged for all of our luggage ready outside. All we have to do is cram it in the Runner's and get away." As with every step of the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament so far, the competition board were footing the bill. Every coin they spent would be coming back with bundles of notes under each arm from the live streaming rights they had already forked out, not to mention the large fortune on the way from merchandising.

"This is going to be close." Drumming fingers against her cramped and maligned knees, Musume could practically taste the unending excitement. "Was this what you it felt like every time?" She had never taken part in an adventure, if the term could apply to the Signer's previous world-saving antics. Her plan had been precise, swift and over before anybody could process what had been going on.

"Butterflies in the stomach?" Peering over at the young woman by his side, Crow was starting to get a better understanding of the daughter he could have had. "Bile in the throat and the overwhelming urge to look for the nearest toilet?" Exactly why the toilet was needed varied depending on who was asked and when. Some things are best left unknown.

"What, you feel all that?" Musume was actually feeling a very unusual addition to the adrenaline mix. "I meant the urge to tear them all apart with my bare hands." Although operating with no spare room for breathing, Crow and Akiza managed to crush themselves slightly further towards the doors.

"That's normal." Pushing himself against the headrests, Jack was the only one who really felt the same way as she did. It had nothing to do with the challenge. "You'll learn to control it."

"Everyone get ready." Crushed against the window with no room to move, the sweet smell of Akiza's hair was starting to make Yusei very nervous for some reason. "We're almost there."

Arrayed outside the ramp that lead down to the underground garage, Kaneesha and most of her staff had managed to gather everything belonging to Team 5D's and even pull the five gleaming Duel Runners to the road outside. Trucks had been parked around them to prevent any spry reporters for spotting the vehicles before time and the chasing flock was on the verge of rounding the not-distant-enough corner they had just left behind.

"Thanks for the lift." Timing the movement perfectly, Jack simply stepped from the car as it screeched around in a tight circle and headed for his Duel Runner.

"Give me a call if you ever need a favour." Rolling from the vehicle, Crow sprinted for the Blackbird as the rest of the group unpacked in a more normal manner.

"Let me take you out for coffee some time." Far from the whirlwind romance that gripped the hearts of the public, it was still something for a middle-aged man to be offered a date by somebody as attractive as Akiza.

"If you ever want somebody killed or something stolen, tell Crow to call me." Having kept her face hidden beneath a mask the entire day, Musume simply a mysterious friend of Team 5D's to Ackah.

"She's joking." Giving Ackah a heartfelt kiss on one cheek, Luna reconsidered her words. "I think." Stepping out of the car, Yusei wasted precious seconds trying to find adequate words and failing.

"We can't thank you enough." Shaking hands with the enthused old man, Yusei felt a spark of utmost respect flare between them.

"Think nothing of it." Eyes glimmering with that same energy that lay behind every joke, Ackah could tell his heart was beating strong and steady as it ever had. "It was my privilege to announce the new King of Games." While the news was starting to sink in, hearing the phrase applied to himself was still stunning Yusei. "Take care of yourself. I'll see you soon." Ackah spun the wheel beneath his grasp and headed off down the street, dodging into an alleyway and even managed to draw a few of the reporters after him.

"What are Luna and I going to do?" With her friends having already packed their belongings into the Duel Runners, Akiza and Luna were left standing beside their bags and waiting to hear their part in the plan. They were very eager to hear it before the reporters arrived in the next minute.

"Hold tight for a minute." Securing his helmet atop his head, Yusei gave instructions as quickly as he could. "Somebody will be along in a minute." Powering off down the road, he set a winding course for the others to follow.

"Who do you think," Luna's question was cut short as the familiar Grayston truck lumbered from out of nowhere and made the answer seemingly obvious. Wheels screeched tarmac smoke as tires shaved slim lines from the road. Grabbing luggage in hands, the pair flew in through the open door before the cloud had even cleared.

"We're in." Slamming the door for good measure, Akiza dropped her luggage in the freshly cleaned booth at the top of the stairs and clung for her life as the driver pulled away in a hurry to keep up with the departing Duel Runners. "What made you come back? I thought that you would be gone for good." There was one problem with her statement. While Obake wasn't in the most stable place, he was bound by the rules of his confinement and could only be 'gone for good' in a permanent way. That said, he also wasn't the current driver. "Who are you?" With Luna hanging back slightly, Akiza went straight for the obvious question as they skidded slightly around a corner onto the I-50 highway at speeds not normally reached on the road.

"Director Morton." Their driver – a handsome ageing African-American with cornrows – seemed to be enjoying himself too much to be anything but a friend of Yusei's. "How have you enjoyed my truck?"

"Your truck?" Strapping herself into the seat directly behind his, Akiza was enjoying the thrill of the chase even as she tried to decipher exactly who the man was.

"Don't listen to him," A very attractive woman with skin equally as dark as her companions and even bouncier hair was sitting in the co-pilots seat. "He's just upset that Dr Fudo got to have a peek. Tembi Locke."

"Akiza, Luna." Holding tight to any surface that could take the weight, Luna was falling around the galley in whirls of excitement as Akiza made the introductions. "How do you know Yusei?"

"We conference now and again. My criminal partner and I," Catching the hand of his wife, the pair shared a smile equally as exciting to them as the moment in the tunnel had been to Yusei and Akiza. "Run a small research facility like the one Yusei does. Just, you know, better." It was an ongoing professional rivalry that had kept them both entertained across the years. If it was better for the sheer output that the SRC could do or the enjoyment Morton's facility had – mishaps and all.

"Don't mind him." Tembi was all gentle smiles and tender goodwill, just like a mother. Akiza instantly saw her as an aunty figure to the eccentric young Yusei whenever he visited Morton. "Joe's just grumpy that somebody managed to fix the bug with the independent wheel subroutine." Chasing along behind the truck was every possible news vehicle in the entire city. With traffic still at a standstill from the tournament, it was obvious exactly which roads to follow and difficult to lose the tail as they raced through the morbidly named Blue Star Memorial stretch of the road.

"It's not that I mind the work," It had taken Obake a few hours to code the patch, days less than a lot of the people who worked for Morton would have taken. Although he had originally planned to ask Yusei to check the code before implementing it, adding the patch in the middle of a high-speed chase at least gave him some extra credit. "It's just that I like my work to be in complimentary languages." Normal people tended to think that writing computer code relied on tapping away at a few keys. There were actually dozens of different types of coding language that could easily interact and cause glitches in the resulting programs.

"Honey, they're gaining on us." Looking out of the mirror, Tembi could see the more reckless news vans slowly closing the distance. "You might have to do something a bit more useful than complaining and running away." They were about midway across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge when she raised the point and reminded her husband they were there to do more can continue the long rivalry.

"Oh, you think I'm just running away." Watching Morton teasing his wife with a charming grin, Akiza wondered if that was how she and Yusei might have once been. "There's a strategy at work. Are you ladies buckled in?" Indicating that Luna join her in being seated, Akiza could see that same spark of raw energy in Tembi's partner that suffused her own. "Watch this!" Bringing up a painfully familiar program, Morton was displaying an even better grasp of controlling the truck than Obake ever had.

Throwing the truck into a sideways drift, two of the passengers screamed in exhilaration with the driver. One suffered a minor flashback to the last time the back had swung out like that and the body count that had followed. Jackknifing across the road, the behemoth machine slowed to a halt almost perfectly blocking the road with no room for the media vans to get by. Leaning out of his window, Morton put on a face of inarticulate outrage and the anger that came with being chased off the road.

"What's the big idea?" Waving his arms at the crowds of reporters, Akiza and Luna could see their friends getting clean away from the other window. "Are you trying to kill somebody? Getting that close almost got me to crash!" Sounding horns, some of the pursuers didn't stop as they tried to cut across the hard shoulder only to find out that road laws were trumped by physical laws and that lampposts didn't move very far. Caught in an endless traffic jam, the faster draws were trying to pull cameras even as Morton slammed the window shut again.

"Where did you learn that trick?" Breathing heavily, Akiza watched the screaming crowd recede as Morton managed to navigate the truck out of the seemingly impossible angle it was stuck in and pull off down the road, continuing to weave slightly in an effort to slow down the ravenous hordes.

"Buddy of mine is the town sheriff. Lets me ride with him when he needs help." A partnership like the one between Yusei and Trudge existed not only on the American continent but dozens of places around the world. Cutting-edge theory pairing up with ground-working peacekeepers.

"Yusei gave Joe a call just after the big match." That must have been the call that made the new King of Games smile so much. Team 5D's master escape plan. "There's a private plane on standby at Kent Island to take you both back to Japan and another that can take your friends anywhere they want. No charge." Chased by the bloodthirsty reporters, Joe moved over to the right of the road as he waited for the majority of them to pass on the inside lane with a tirade of honking horns and crude hand gestures. Once most of them had passed by, he calmly pulled off down the slip road without even indicating first.

"Honey, I'm sure Yusei can work off the cost by contributing a few hours work." There were companies who would genuinely pay millions for the chance to have Yusei spend even a day working for them. What days he had left wasn't precious just to him but to every unknowing suit on the planet.

"More like a few weeks. Did you see what he did to the suspension?" Morton was not an idiot. He knew that there was no way Yusei could have been driving the truck and partaking in the Trinidad tournament. At the time, he assumed that Akiza had been driving the truck. Either way, her boss would be fitting the bill. "It's going to take me all afternoon to get those replaced. Think of all the paperwork that I'm going to have to delegate." Pulling onto the runway, Morton laughed with his wife as they drew close to a pair of large cargo planes. Even though the open hulls gave impressions of grim efficiency, both had a comfortable lounge just behind the cockpit for passengers to enjoy during the flight. Yusei, Jack and Leo were already securing their Runners in the hold of the plan going back to Japan. Musume had challenged Crow into a race to the end of the runway and was idling at the far end as they stared back at the distant city that was still deep in celebrations.

"What kept you?" Striding down the ramp, Yusei seemed unimpressed with the time it had taken Morton to arrange everything and then convey his friends. "We've been waiting at least a minute." Hanging out of the door, Morton greeted his young friend with a wide smile.

"Where's that power converter you said you were going to fetch?" In an effort to sneak away from a boring conference when they had last met, Yusei had promised to reveal the latest revolutionary project of the SRC.

"What can I say?" Spreading his arms wide in feigned innocence, Yusei approached his colleague. "All those clearly labelled hallways look the same." Deftly sliding past Morton, he and Tembi grasped one another's upper arms and clapped them thoroughly. "I was blinded by the brilliance of my fellow scientists."

"Uh huh?" Clearly not buying the smooth line, Tembi still smiled. "Well, maybe you can explain everything that happened to the truck while it was under your authority?"

"No time." Grabbing their bags from the booths, Akzia piled both Luna's luggage and her own into Yusei's arms. "He has to get our luggage." Recognising the power dynamic between the two, Tembi instantly set about exchanging contact information with the redhead as Joe helped Yusei carry the luggage aboard and gave some final instructions to the pilots. Down at the end of the runway, Crow and Musume looked on from afar as they had their own conversation.

"What are you going to do next?" Checking they were out of earshot from anyone else, Crow leaned forward on his Duel Runner and looked across at Musume.

"Check up on some old friends." That was, after one last race on Dilucesco. There hadn't been a machine like it before and she was going to enjoy every second she could. "What about you? Any plans?"

"Canada." She might have seen his phone in the lift so Crow deflected the question with an almost perfect lie. "Take some time for myself." Lying was an art. A good lie should encompass as many elements of the truth as it could before the lines blur. Only one person in the dysfunctional family could lie as well as Crow.

"Be careful out there." Reaching across, she held out a fist for him to bump. "Yliaster isn't going to take this one lying down."

"What can they do?" Smiling as he knocked knuckles, Crow felt himself lucky to have made such a fast and firm friend. Even if they happened to have been his daughter from the future. "I'm famous now. Untouchable." Fame didn't go to Crow's head. It was bloated enough with his ego.

"Uh-huh." She clearly didn't buy it. Every scary story from her childhood starred Yliaster as the boogeyman lurking behind every face. "What about your Runner?" Wherever he was going, it would be tough to take the vehicle with him.

"It's going back to New Domino with the others. And yes, they will take yours as well." Having disassembled her Duel Skates the day after getting her new toy, it was clear that Musume was new to the difficulties of caring for a Runner. "Of course," Crow smiled as he slowly edged his Runner back around to face towards the plane. "That's only if you can beat me back." She did so with ease. With whatever engine was hidden inside the machine, Musume could probably have kept pace with the heavy cargo planes.

Yusei shook hands with Jo and Tembi, laughing off the problems with the truck, promising repairs. A quick round of introductions with his family before they all saw a stream vans quickly coming down the distant ramp. Giving a quick and impetuous wave and missing the fleeting shadow slip into the plane headed back to Japan. Some brief hugs and embraces with Crow as he boarded the other plane. Quickly climbing into the sky before they could be caught again. Musume wondering if maybe it would be possible to be happy and open with her family. With all the weirdness that had happened on the American continent, they were eager to resume normal lives again. Maybe she could enjoy a brief window of happiness with them before the end.

 _ **Unfortunately, due to some large changes in my personal life, I will be unable to continue working as much on The Last Adventure as I anticipated being able to. Because of this, I made some minor changes to this chapter to make it a possible soft ending to the series.**_

 _ **If that sounds like a cop-out to you, congratulations! Have yourself a cookie.**_

 _ **I will continue to write chapters and segments where I can but do not expect any new chapters until around July 2019. Make no mistake, this story is not dead. Like many things we wish for in life, it is simply suffering from delays and will be along a little later than we would all like.**_

 _ **That aside, any and all reviews are always welcome and provide a source of encouragement when the writing seems set against me. Be kind and leave a few words :)**_


	16. No Regrets

Crowds had gathered outside every airport within fifty miles of New Domino as rumours and misleading information spread like wildfire through gossip chains. The SRC had to call in police to try and quell the groups literally trying to climb their walls. Martha simply unleashed the full might of her most energetic wards upon the reporters sneaking about her grounds and calmly met their screams for reparations over broken equipment with promises of suing the papers they each worked for over trespassing. It was absolute madness until a solid lead emerged by way of several social media accounts posting photos of the new King of Games trying to sneak into the city through the mountain pass. Then the entire city tried to force itself up into the rocky roads in an effort to be the first to get a signature or 'exclusive' photo.

"I wonder who posted those photos." Seated comfortably in the padded seats in the back of an innocuous van, Yusei and Akiza had watched the movements of their fans with both fear and wonder.

"Probably someone looking for a quick payday." Though he had other suspicions in his gut, Yusei had no way of finding out. He was right though, the dark figure was behind the coordinated confusion. Similar false photos had let Jack simply slip away into New Domino traffic as the Runners were unloaded with the utmost care. In all the confusion and hubbub of sneaking the three Duellists away, nobody had noticed Musume simply turn and walk back onto the borrowed plane.

"You're going to struggle to keep a low profile." It had been hard enough being the absent World Champion. There wouldn't be a single spare moment now that Yusei was the third ever King of Games.

"Look on the bright side," Feeling their vehicle slow to a halt, Yusei stretched himself upright. "Yliaster is going to have a hard time coming us now." A panel leading to the driver's cabin slid open to reveal the equally innocent face of a perfectly ordinary civilian.

"Looks like this is your stop." Hefting a door as gently as she could, she slid open a side of the wall to reveal the back alley to Poppo Time. It was technically trespassing to enter and there was no chance of a decent shot so no photographers were waiting. "I'll keep them distracted for as long as I can." Grabbing the bulkiest package in the back, she nodded familiarly to Yusei and Akiza. For legal reasons, the woman was on paper as 'outsourced contractor' for the SRC. She was less politely referred to as a 'fixer', somebody not really part of any company but able to do things they couldn't legally do. Yusei regretted the necessity of such people but usually used them for nothing more harmful than organising a surprise party. Fixers loved working for the SRC because it was easy work with good people and decent pay.

Hefting their bags under his arms, Yusei nodded to Akiza in a way didn't need explanation. As their driver distracted the reporters and photographers by trying to deliver a phoney parcel to the wrong address, Akiza unlocked the door, held it open just long enough for Yusei to dive in behind her and then locked it again before anybody could even realise that it had been open in the first place. In the breathless silence as they tried to listen for the sounds of the media crashing through the shop out front, they exchanged twin smiles.

"It's good to be home."

After they had unpacked, Akiza went to ask Yusei about what to do for dinner only to find his door ajar. Yusei himself was sitting on his bed under the window and holding a picture in either hand. "What are you looking at?" Broken from his reverie, Yusei shuffled to the edge of the bed where she could perch beside him and look at the photos for herself. One was the picture of their previous victory at the WRDGP and the other was a faded picture of three people in a family portrait. "It was weird not having you on the team." Smiling at the happier memory, he tapped the image of their mechanic with the frame of the other picture. "Bruno thought about trying for the King of Games but didn't want an unfair advantage." They infrequently heard about Bruno winning the odd competition here and there whenever he needed some extra funds. There weren't that many people who even gave him pause in a Duel.

"Maybe the next time." It had been decades since the last King of Games had been crowned but there was no telling how long their enhanced friend might live.

"Maybe." Putting the photo to one side, Yusei focused on the only family picture he owned. "It's weird to think that my parents weren't that much older than me." Touching his mother's face one more time, Yusei gently put the frame back on his desk. "People always talk about their work like they were these big, untouchable heroes but they had a tiny flat and a mortgage. They even managed to squeeze having a kid into the mix, somehow." In the morose silence, Akiza finally asked the question that had been picking away at her mind for hours.

"What was that... about in the tunnel?" She managed to skip over the word 'kiss' in a way that made it even more obvious than actually saying it.

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific." He had never told Akiza exactly how much he loved watching the blush spread over her face and down her neck. It was a harmless tease but enough to make her instantly flustered.

"I... the... you know." A sly glance out from the corner of his eye indicated that he knew exactly what but could keep pushing.

"You always hear older people saying they've lived full lives." Staring at the picture of his parents, Yusei hoped that they had had no regrets before the end. "I'm not going to get that chance. Six months, Akiza. That's all I have left. That's not a lot of tomorrows to be worried about. You told me that maybe it was time I asked something for myself. That was it." Not an acknowledgement for any of his work or an apology for the harsh years of his life. All that Yusei had wanted was just one moment for only himself and Akiza. "No regrets."

Leaning over, she gave him a gentle press on his marked cheek. "No regrets."

* * *

To say dinner went badly was an understatement. Most of their ingredients had expired with nobody to check on them and there was no way to throw them out without the reporters instantly realising that somebody was inside. What resources had survived expiration were grouped into what Yusei either referred to as 'emergency survival rations' or his stock of 'too tired or lazy to make a proper meal' depending on who was asking. It was a cupboard filled with noodle cups and junk food that was sweetened enough to rot unprepared teeth.

While they would normally talk about their days or reminisce over the events of the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament, both were too exhausted from fleeing the press and an entire country, followed by sneaking into another country and past yet more media, to talk much. Instead, Akiza had managed to find a late-night satire show that covered the weekly news and they were both stifling giggles as they hunkered in the gloomy room beneath blankets and chewing on bland noodles.

"Wait until they find the cosplay photos from when we had to sneak back from registration." Topics covered thus far had included not to mess with 'little Leo lion', how Crow had suddenly become a ninja to get through his challenge and exactly why nobody had counted on Yusei winning.

"I'm more looking forward to interviews with the runner-ups." Neither was exactly missing Musume and simply assumed she had gone to find her own lodgings. Getting in contact with her was impossible anyway.

"They should get Hunter Pace up there." Yusei still hadn't told them about his perfectly replicated Duel just yet. He was going to check up on some details first. A large yawn interrupted his plans. "You should get some rest." Akzia was clearly more tired than he was. Heavy bags were set under each eye and he was worried about how often her head kept drooping.

"Oh no, you're not getting rid of me that easily." With a filled stomach and nestled beneath comfortable blankets, it didn't take either genius to figure out how easy it would be for her to simply fall asleep. "Holiday over, we're back at work from tomorrow. That means I don't get to sleep until you do." Oddly prophetic words though she didn't realise it.

"I'm sure you can also dazzle me with exactly how and why sleep is important for maintaining a clear mind." A withering if bleary glare emphasised that she did know but lack of sleep was making it ironically difficult to explain. "This is my burden to bear, not yours." Slamming herself into his shoulder, Akiza hid herself right beneath his gaze where she wouldn't be seen. "Besides, I had to use the cerebral inhibitor several times in America. It will take a while to start being effective again. Which means..." Stifling a yawn all his own, Yusei missed the obvious. It was literally right under his nose. "Which means I'm going to have several more seizures. Look on the bright side, that means more data for you." No reaction. "Akiza?" A slight snort this time, as she continued to slumber from her gentle tilt against his should. Careful not to wake her, Yusei slid slightly down in his posture so that she could nestle more comfortably in the crook of his neck.

Turning the already quiet volume on the television all the way down, Yusei promised himself this wouldn't last long. Just until the next break. After that, he would carry Akiza to her room and leave her to get some rest. Twenty minutes, thirty maximum until the next break. When day came, they would be back at work in the fruitless search for a cure to his condition.

Before too long, the only sound in the room was the deep breathing of two exhausted young people as the slept in front of a silently flickering television set.

 _ **Although I said no updates until next year, I was saddened to hear that Marvel founder, heart and soul, Stan Lee sadly passed away today. I'm not exactly the best one for dealing with grief so I decided to write this tiny chapter instead. Good luck, my friends and see you next year.**_

 _ **Excelsior!**_


	17. Will I Dream?

There is an eternal philosophical debate as to what qualifies as being truly 'alive'. Take cells. They consume energy, grow and pass on their heritage to future generations before they expire. Are cells alive? Some say no, others claim technically yes. People are alive certainly. But what if somebody is born without higher brain functions? What if their entire life is spent without thinking, learning or simply being? Are they actually 'alive'? And suppose that a computer learned how to think for itself. What if it was given a name, made decisions and developed a personality. Could the cumulation of a bundle of wires, computer circuits and electricity be called alive?

A man once said, "I think, therefore I am." Abi did a lot of thinking. It was what she was good at. Only one of the four server buildings was dedicated solely to her use but she was directly connected to all four and like to watch the experiments the SRC scientists would run. Their minds operated in ways she often failed to understand. Take Mr Rubinek. Rubinek was in charge of library acquisitions and had an uncanny ability to see far beyond the raw data he would dredge up using online search engines. Mr Head – the other man who ran the SRC library – would frequently grumble about the untidy mess researchers would make of his tidy domain but never failed to pile books up himself when doing research. Such personalities baffled Abi almost as much as Din's did.

Din was an ongoing source of amusement to the young sentience. She liked to watch him work, shouting at equations as if they were things to be fought with instead of problems to understand and puzzles to complete. For ever time he was angry and enraged at scientists who had slighted him when they thought themselves out of earshot, there was another when he showed restraint and tender gentleness towards Vera the hawk or professional respect for Akiza, Yusei and a small handful of other persons he respected. Dynamic and unpredictable though he was, Din had struck up a friendly (for him) rapport with the computer once he realised how fast it could keep up with his mind.

Abi shifted her focus to his labs to check up on the work he was doing. Although less trained and practised than Akiza, Din had continued to work on anything that could help slow or cure Yusei's condition while his partner had been watching the crowning of the new King of Games in America. What progress the pair had made already had been done in a significantly shorter amount of time than it had taken Yusei to do similar work. At the speeds Abi could process and filter information, it was between the time that the piece of chalk Din was holding touched the board and began to move that she was able to calculate how long it might take him to formulate an effective remedy based on his rate of progress. A rough estimate placed the timing at between eight months and a year if research continued at a pace of roughly +/-18.9734% of current pace for the duration and if they included additional help. A reminder had already been placed to check their progress every hour they worked on it and to go over their findings at the end of each shift.

As much as she wanted to ensure Yusei's survival, Abi knew that she was of little help beyond that of an assistant. There were many ways that she had formulated to slow or even halt the progress of his disease but Yusei had turned down every single one. Suggesting extracting his brain and placing it in a nutrient solution to provide a state of permanent consciousness in order to avoid triggering NREM cycles had been dubbed "unethical and oddly claustrophobic". Mentioning cryogenics had been listed as "a cool idea" before being dismissed. Attempting to bring her father around to the notion of electronically storing his neural pathways in a simulated matrix hosted in a system similar to her own was still a sore point between the pair. Yusei had laughed so hard he choked on his food in the middle of a function and been pounded on the back by new fewer than three people. Humans had a strange way of letting their personal feelings interfere. It was sometimes a weakness yet could also prove to be their greatest strengths.

Some interesting data sparking in the system drew her attention briefly. Abi's existence on the SRC network was one of a paradoxical nature. She was fully integrated into the facility but it also existed semi-separately as well. Like a human being and their appendix or most any part of their body. With minimal focus, it was possible to concentrate on any single area and get a rough understanding of the situation but rarely is that attention needed. In this case, an internal temperature sensor in the utility tunnels had momentarily flickered. That happened sometimes. Maybe a flicker of extra power filtered through the circuits and gave false readings. It never reached the rest of the system and she had requested the sensor checked several times. It never failed the tests but Abi noticed that the readings always corresponded to the temperature outside – higher when it was hot and lower when it was cold.

An email appeared in one of her inboxes. Although Abi kept her existence a secret from the people at the SRC, the anonymity of the internet afforded her the ability to connect with people without risk of discovery. This latest message was from a monk who lived in a monastery near Iwaizumi.

 _It is always interesting to hear the questions that your mind formulates._ Yusei's own mortality had caused Abi to examine her own existence and then the question of what came next. Attempts to contact holy persons around the globe without raising alarms had proven fruitless so she had aimed her sights slightly lower and gone for more humble worshippers. She had started off small with questions of if certain traits or actions could render a person spiritually null or without a soul and whether animals had souls before moving onto questions such as 'is there an afterlife for stars?'. _Forgive me if you find my responses lacking. I understand that computers may be given 'artificial intelligence' but it is not something people of my profession tend to study deeply._ What had gripped Abi in a moment of perplexity was not a question of who or what she was but of rather a more essential nature: did she have a soul? Not many had bothered to respond to that question and most had been cold in their responses. This kindly man from the north of Japan was the first to offer a sincere reply.

 _There is much that we do not understand about this world and your search tells me that you are more open to that truth than most. Humanity is a very small part of a much larger design. We are flawed, open to temptations and burdened with suffering we have caused ourselves. Some claim we are the pinnacle of evolution but others say we are a random mistake that persists from stubbornness. Many believe that if a person acts well through their life and is free from burdens, they go to a better place. Does a computer do a good job creating weapons of death if that is what it is programmed for? Would it be wrong to act against those that made it to do so for a greater good?_ Abi had read every book online that touched on ethics and morals. Such ideas were not foreign to her and she had some compelling arguments of her own. _There is no specific criteria, no magic formula to identify a soul. Maybe there are people who simply do not posses that which others do. It could be that a system one day exists that grows in such a way that it becomes more than sentient. It might have interests, hobbies, friends, relationships and a family that – although not biological – is as real as can be. At that point, who can say that this system does not have a soul? Would it need to pray to a higher power? Would it_ be _a higher power?_ Abi had ruled out that possibility very early on when a coolant leak had forced her to wait on a slow human response to have the system mended. _If there existed a computer that could go against its programming and do something that should be impossible, I would admit it has at least grounds to argue for a soul. Until that day comes, I do not think that the question will need much attention but it is certainly an intriguing one._

So this man had boiled down the existence of a soul to the ability to do something that was illogical? Abi failed to understand that. People often did acts that seemed illogical but always had some form of reasoning behind it. Avoiding a parking ticket to save the money, lying to a friend to spare their feelings. To say that a person was truly alive only if they lived by illogical measures was an impossible standard. But then, by an extension of that reasoning, it made it possible that Abi did have a soul. If people had souls despite not being able to commit illogical acts, then why should she – who could no more commit an illogical act than pull the stars from the sky – be any different?

Sated for the moment, she turned her attentions to the return of Yusei and his family. Leo and Luna were headed back to their old penthouse that Yusei had bought after the previous owner ran into bankruptcy. Judging from a flood of social media posts, Jack was slipping towards a meltdown as fans were bodily hurling themselves towards him and frequently resulting in pileups as they crushed one another in their efforts. Signals from Yusei and Akiza's phones placed them safely back in Poppo Time. There was no trace of Crow to be found which puzzled Abi. She would have expected the group to keep close ranks but it appeared the diminutive Duellist had slipped away where she couldn't find him. There was no search effort being headed by Yusei so she quietly put the absence down to a private holiday without interruptions. After all, how much trouble could Crow really be in?

 _ **Hello again. To cut a long story short, my first computer is getting on a bit (we're talking years beyond how long it was meant to last) and it's finally time to shelve the old thing. Which got me thinking – would Abi count as a living being? Would she ponder the nature not of her existence but of what happens to 'her' if the computers died? And then this chapter happened.**_

 _ ** _Maybe it's silly but I dedicate this chapter to my rugged old laptop (called the "crap-top" in recent months). To take a cue from Jean-Luc Picard:_**_ _ ** _It was an overworked, underpowered machine, always on the verge of flying apart at the seams. In every measurable sense, the replacement is far superior. But there are times when I would give almost anything to do it all again._**_


	18. Incognit-Crow

It was nigh impossible to investigate anything with a face recognised around the world. Whenever Jack Atlas entered a city, newspapers from across the land sent whoever they could spare to try and snag a photo or rare interview. If Yusei so much as sneezed in the direction of another country, manilla folders were opened and notes were added. At least Crow had enough sense to scatter his trail a little.

" _Hurry to the Martyr's Hill._ " It had been the dying words of the best Duellist Yliaster could send against him. " _You alone are worthy._ " It was far from an exact address but he had been able to decipher the meaning. Being in America, they had been speaking the local English dialect and she had called it the Martyr's Hill. It should actually have been translated as 'Hill of the Martyrs' or simply referred to in the original French – Montmartre, a raised district in the centre of Paris.

A careless investigator would have been on the next plane to the Charles de Gaulle Airport. A more careful mind would have waited a few days before going. And a trained former criminal, former police officer, sometimes (only when he was in New Domino visiting family) thief would avoid landing in Paris altogether and take a cheap flight to the slightly run-down Aeroport Paris Beauvais Tillé to the north and ask which way to Compiègne before boarding the 'wrong train' heading south instead of west after withdrawing as much cash as was possible from local ATM's. Exchange charges alone would take a hefty chunk of the Pegasus Trinidad winnings but it left him practically untraceable after the last withdrawal. As long as he was frugal with his money and skipped a few meals, Crow could survive two weeks in the famed 'City of Light' without leaving a paper trail.

When he had boarded the train at the airport, Crow had left behind a cluster of screaming fans trying to either marry him or point out that he was boarding the wrong track. After five minutes in the cramped confines of a broken toilet with a small tube of concealer and a puffy scarf he had bought at the airport, a completely different man emerged from the small cubicle. Having tied his plain jacket around his wait and crammed his hair into an oversized beanie, even Jack wouldn't spare him a second glance now that the criminal marks had been masked over. Less than two hours after landing, Crow was forty miles away and unidentifiable in the evening rush hours to cram itself into the French capital for the night.

Paris had one of the best networks for intra-city travel Crow had ever encountered. They generally ran to time and just about everywhere. He could have made his way clear across the inspiring city without walking more than a few metres but chose to board a bus that slowly made the journey to the 19th arrondissement municipaux – or 'administrative districts' – where he would be staying while he searched for Yliaster. It was a crummy little building call Hipotel Paris Belleville.

Stopping on the other side of the empty street, Crow was even more underwhelmed than he had been when searching for accommodation back in America. Peeling paint had upgraded into crumbling brick, the vertical weeds were growing into shrubs on the side of the building and there was a sense of neglect to the building that Crow hadn't felt since living in the Satellite. Reviews online had actually recommended punching a police officer and sleeping in a drunk tank for nicer surroundings but it had exactly what Crow was looking for: low rates, lower pay and the distinct earmarks that the receptionist would be willing to accept an extra few notes to 'forget' to check his passport at the desk. Swallowing his pride and basic standards of living, he had to lift the door slightly to force it open.

Inside the hotel was no better than the outside. A broken plastic garden chair was propped in one corner, dead ferns in another. There was a waiting area as far as somebody had dropped some dusty magazines on a wonky table. There was a dripping pipe in the middle of the ceiling that had been dealt with by putting a bucket (filled beyond the brim) into a tub (now overflowing onto the floor) and left alone.

"Hey, man." A distinct smell of herbs was coming from the huge bundle of hair that was currently at the worn chipboard counter. "Is there some way we can get the shower in our room working again? Thing keeps breaking down."

"Maintenance will get to it." Turning a page in the glossy magazine, the disinterested teen was probably related to whoever currently owned the crumbling business. "Which room?"

"Floor four, room twenty." Holding out a respectful fist to dump, the surly youth patted it absently as they studied the latest in a long line of meaningless changes to the teen world. "C'mon babe, let's go find some food." Cooing over each other, a cloying scent was strong enough pacify Crow's simmering anger for a moment. It was actually impressive to get such a contact high from people still able to actually walk.

"Do you have a room available?" Eyeshadow – not the accessory kind but more the aggressive grunge version – stared out at him in disbelief.

"Have you seen this place?" Swivelling around in her chair, the left side of the head was revealed as completely shaved when the teen pulled a wrench from under the counter and smashed a thick pipe on the rotten pillar behind her. A swarm of woodlice crawled from the wood as a chunk of plaster fell from the ceiling in a corner. It was an unsettlingly apt start to Crow's search.

"I'll take a room for three nights." Pulling a few notes from his pocket, he avoided touching the counter directly. It was best not to leave any prints when Yliaster was involved and the stain patterns looked grim from across the room. "Let's keep it quiet." Revealing an extra note tucked under his thumb, it was easy for Crow to earn the silence of an underpaid, overworked teen with little pride in her job.

"Third floor." Drawing a thick circle of wood attached to a plain silver key, she picked it up with a pen to avoid touching it directly. "Room eight." Dangling the fob between his fingers, Crow hoped the residue he was feeling were just stains from alcohol. "Take the elevator." Waving over one shoulder as she crammed the note away, the unidentified youth turned back to her magazine.

Deciding that the rusting cage was a death trap waiting to happen, Crow pushed his way through to the most interesting stairway he had ever seen. Traditionally, the steps were meant to go upwards in roughly equal amounts. One step sagged so much that he could practically feel the ceiling below and the flights to the third floor were tilted at such crazy angles that Crow found himself pitching about more than on a rocking ship. When he stumbled and fell into a wall, there was the unmistakable sound of something falling from the far side and Crow hurried along before it could be pinned on him.

Dull lights flickered in the hallway with an atmosphere damp enough to put a thin veneer of water in the cold air. Creaking springs and muffled grunts came from behind one door, strange laughter from another as Crow journeyed down the hallway. Hipotel Paris Belleville had clearly fallen a long way from when it had first opened and become a den for sordid pleasures. At least the doors were kept closed. It meant that Crow at least had some privacy for his search.

Warped hinges on his room door meant that the wooden panel both scraped against the floor and stuck when lifted. Inside the room was about as good as Crow had expected. No curtains or blinds to cover glass so dirty it was practically opaque. Maybe a genius plumber could have identified the contraption in the corner of the tiny water closet but there was no saving the toilet and a build of contaminants had managed to physically connect the tap in the sink to the plastic bowl.

There were unsettling stains on the bed so Crow pulled a pack of tissues and wiped down the thick grime from the top of the dresser before gingerly lowering his rucksack atop of it. Among his purchases from the airport had been a satchel. Throwing his other belongings inside the satchel, he wrapped the rucksack inside-out before adding it to the top. Another switch of jacket and change of hat made him a new person to anyone who might be watching. Within fifteen minutes of Crow Hogan entering the Hipotel Paris Belleville, a complete stranger exited through the narrow alley that ran parallel to the rear of the building and vanished into the sprawling capital.

 _ **Hello again! I didn't intend to post again so soon but - after some dozen attempts, three months and a bit of minor hackery - I finally managed to get my good phone working again. This chapter was already most of the way done so I cleared up a few mistakes and thought I should treat you all. Enjoy (and remember to leave a review, authors love that stuff)!  
**_


	19. Sacre Tour

Montmartre was not just some street in a small town. It was a large area of a busy city, steeped in history and overflowing with a wide range of diverse interests and businesses. There were thousands of inhabitants, tens of thousands who could pass through every day. No possible end to where Yliaster could be lurking. Maybe they were hiding in the basement of a pastry shop, perhaps they had somehow claimed the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. With twilight starting to settle across the sky and prying eyes watching for any outliers of the evening crowd, Crow's criminal senses tingled in the direction of middle-aged brunette.

" _Excusez-moi?_ " With a charming smile and handsome wink, Crow was able to ingratiate himself to a waiting tour guide in flawless French. "Still room for one more?"

A scripted line about quotes and lines momentarily froze as the young brunette saw the handsome face. "Sorry, pre-bookings only." Tiny twitches around her mouth and eyes indicated that she wasn't entirely committed when it came to Crow.

"That's a shame." Some disappointment crept into his eyes as the smile deepened slightly. "Maybe I could just tag along nearby? 'Paris' is quite beautiful but it's difficult to get around easily." Flirting but not creepy, smiling but not grinning. A folded note in his palm as Crow reached out to shake her hand sealed the deal with the guide.

"We'll be starting out from the Pigalle Metro. A lot of people come in on the train so we usually have a few stragglers." Tourists tended to believe that their tiny fees gave them all the authority they needed to bend the rules. That wasn't what drew Crow's attention about that particular tour though.

"Isn't Pigalle the 'red light' district?" What bribe Crow had already handed over went straight to paying for that comment as the official members of the group arrived and the guide started speaking.

"Good evening. My name is Annabelle. Anna to my friends, never Belle." It was said with a smile and a laugh and the whole group – bar Crow – instantly felt at ease with this stranger. "We start our tour at the Pigalle district. In days long past," Annabelle glanced at Crow with a look twice as dirty as any glare. "It had a sketchy reputation as being the red-light district but it's our _green_ light for the start of this tour." A few half-hearted chuckles came at the almost-dirty joke. Crow just scowled less and glanced over one shoulder.

Their tour took them past Cité du Midi, a gorgeous little street that had been unfortunately closed off to the public but had a picturesque quality of not what Paris was but what it had been in more idyllic times. In keeping with the clustering group, Crow was practically forced to take a few photos on his phone. A similar view of Villa des Platanes gave them a glimpse of the more imperious architectures of history just a few steps further down the road. They were beautiful sights that Crow would have normally loved to see but both eyes were constantly roaming around each site as he searched for anything out of the ordinary. Even the legendary Moulin Rogue was given only a passing glance with the thronging crowds cutting the group off from more than a view from the end of the street.

They stopped for drinks at the cosy Café des Deux Moulins. "How do you take yours?" Winning some extra points with tour guide Anna, Crow paid for two cups of the strongest coffee available. Deux Moulins charged at tourist prices in an already expensive part of the city. It was enough for a proper meal in many smaller cities.

"Black." Gratefully accepting the steaming takeaway cup, it was the little bribes that made the difference. "You can get more caffeine in when you don't dilute it. Sugar slows you down and milk makes for mistakes." Something about the saying flashed up in his memory.

"Cop for long?" Good cops learned varying tricks to stay awake. One of the guys who worked in the garage with Crow had spent his third straight shift literally singing all the tools available under his breath for hours on end without pause. It was eerie.

"Six years. Reported a superior for corruption, got let go the next day." It was a nasty reality to find yourself in. "What about you?" Only people who worked the law could pick each other up so quickly. That isn't to say both had to work the same side of it.

"A few months. Spent most of my early years on the other side." Tiny tingles ran through primal instincts. Knowing without knowing how, Crow had the unmistakable realisation that somebody nearby had recognised him. He had been 'made'. It was impossible to know who had noticed him in the crowded establishment.

"What made you change your mind?" It had been so fast that Anna hadn't even noticed the twinge of discomfort.

"Mostly stole to keep myself and a few others fed. Met some nasty people along the way." Scanning through the crowds going in and out of the door and eating around the floor. Checking out people behind him with the mirror behind the bar. Crow was keeping himself busy as the conversation was kept up. "When the chance came to make a difference, I took it."

"So what are you doing in France, taking an under-the-table tour?" Nobody could scope out a room forever – especially when an ex-cop was right beside them – so Crow catalogued as many faces as he could in the precious few seconds he could reasonably spend turning his head.

"Needed to clear my head. I know somebody who's not exactly sociable and said they would be somewhere around here." It was near enough the truth he didn't feel bad.

"Hey, Jingle Belle!" A rude Italian gentleman was almost thrown clear through the window as he shouted from right behind Crow. "When are we getting back on with this tour? I'm not paying just to wait around while you flirt with your customers."

"Just as soon as everyone has rested up." Defusing the situation with a smile and clap of her hands, Anna pressed a finger into Crow's arm to stop him turning around.

"Let me at least pick his wallet." A joyful tone made it clear he wasn't being serious unless she gave him permission. "Wanna bet I can get his watch as well?"

"That's enough out of you." Draining her own cup with the stoicism of a serial night-worker, she forced his own mug back onto the counter. "Cop to cop, it looks bad if your customers make a habit of losing personal possessions."

"Con to cop, what if the money just happened to make its way into a charity pot and the wallet went right back where it started off?" That particular comment cost him slightly more to keep himself on the tour when the finally left the iconic cafe.

They passed the Bateau Lavoire and stared at the trademark green doors that distinguished it as the location where one of Picasso's own studios had once resided. For those unimpressed by legends of masters past, Rue d'Orchampt provided an alluring if illegal gallery or graffiti that was painted clean once a month by the very type of artists who would then cover this new canvas in the coming weeks. Le Moulin de la Galette – once a favourite of Van Gogh himself – was only possible to have a short observation with the restaurant underneath in full swing. If events had been drastically different, Crow would have loved every second of the enchanting tour as it wound down beautiful streets and amazing alleys. Anna clearly had as much understanding of her city as Crow did his, if not more. It was a waste of magnificent job to simply act as a cover while Crow gauged his surroundings beneath a ridiculous disguise and behind the clicking cameras of tourists.

Clos Montmartre sailed by as Anna explained it was the only vineyard to have survived since the Roman Empire had successfully conquered Paris hundreds of years ago. It was as they approached the end of Rue De La Bonne that something of interest finally happened. A bearded face had been following the group ever since they left Café des Deux Moulins. Crow had spotted it a few times, lurking just out of sight of the group and only following when it thought he was looking the other way. Reflections from windows and in passing cars had let him keep track but it was only when a clear avenue presented itself that they finally approached from behind, aiming for the man right beside Crow.

Had Martha been even slightly less intense in drilling some manners into his head, he might have been willing to let the rude Italian get whatever was coming to him. Instead, Crow shifted around him, taking the outside edge of the group in an effort to move further ahead. His mark was good but nowhere near the same level as Crow himself. A tiny bump as they passed but nothing more. An easy mistake to make.

"Excuse me," Grabbing the throat in one hand, he smashed the pinwheeling figure into the ground and pressed one knee onto his chest and the other tourists either screamed or started taking pictures. "You appear to have something that belongs to me."

"What is going on?!" Anna was faster than most cops with twice her stated experience. One hand had pulled a can of pepper spray from a back pocket and the other had already found several zip ties to secure her suspect with.

"Meet your average pickpocket." It was unlikely this was the person responsible for having given Crow the feeling of being recognised. More likely just an opportunist who saw a loud tourist as the perfect opportunity for a quick pick. "What have we got here?" Performing a highly illegal and through search, each pocket was emptied out in turn. "Six watches, two new phones and four wallets? Somebody's been busy." Grabbing the warmest leather pouch, he left the guilty party still gasping on the floor. "Next time," Slamming it into the Italians' chest, he risked winding a second man in as many minutes. "Try being a bit more polite to your guide."

It was a majestic view from the Sacre Coeur. Architect Paul Abadie had carefully aligned it on an almost perfect north-south axis atop the hill for sweeping sights of the main hub of Paris. On a clear night, it was possible to watch one street after the other slowly become illuminated by the light of hundreds of homes and thousands of streetlights. It was even possible to catch a glimpse of the famous Eiffel Tower off to the right and far away in the distance. Quiet footsteps approached from behind as the group continued to gawk at the fabulous architecture behind him.

"Guessing your friend isn't going to show." Anna could probably see the tension in his shoulders as Crow looked over the city. He had assumed the lights of streetlamps and cars would alleviate the flashbacks and instinctive fear. It had been a stupid attempt to keep his centre intact that had failed dramatically. Night shadows had always been a useful tool in his arsenal until the incident in America had filled him with a new fear of the dark.

"Probably not." Few people of repute were actually out as the tour was starting to wind down. It would have helped if Crow had more familiarity with the Parisian criminal underworld and could tell who did what. Asking Anna to point out the unknown illegal elements would probably be too suspicious to let slip past, especially considering his own criminal past. "It was a long shot at best."

"Reckon your friend will wait around a few days?" Anna very clearly wasn't stupid, especially with six years of work in the police service.

"Maybe. I'll just have to wait and see." That rude Italian from before made the mistake of leaning on the rails a short distance away. One glare from Crow drove him away fairly quickly. "Best that I leave before your colleagues get here. I'm trying to keep a low profile, after all." Avoiding the police was a criminal indication, helping where it wasn't necessary pointed the other way. Something about the combination clearly appealed to Anna.

"Here," Pulling an old piece of card from her pocket, Anna pressed it into Crow's palm. "I do some P.I. work for my day job. Give me a call if you need a few questions asked off the books." Flicking the card with his spare fingers, Crow did the polite thing of dropping his scowl. That pressure on his psyche the past few days had made him more and more like Jack. Considering he was in France, maybe it would have been more appropriate to call him 'Jacque'.

"Thanks." Slipping the card into his pocket, he gave a respectful nod. "I'd best get going now." Just before he departed into a solitary walk through the night, Crow turned back again. "Name's Crow. Look me up if you're ever in Japan." Waving over one shoulder, he began to descend down the thick concrete steps as Anna collected the wandering members of her tour group.

What questions Crow was going to ask would kill most people who asked them. Tearing the rectangle in half, he tossed both parts into a bin as he walked past. It was a shame, Anna had been nice. He would have liked to make a friend had the situation allowed it.

* * *

For the sake of convenient circumstance, neither party happened to notice the exact time. It could have easily been at the same moment that Crow was dipping his way down the steps outside the iconic church that another figure was struggling to navigate the labyrinthine streets in of the capital city in a country where her knowledge of the language extended as far as ' _Can you tell me where the train station_ ' and doing a crude imitation of a gondolier (languages not exactly having been at the forefront of her education). It was, of course, Musume struggling to make her way through the night with only a paper map she had lifted from a newspaper stand as she passed by. A few passing comments by the pilot Director Morton had directed to extract Yusei and his friends from America but she had put up a 'compelling argument' to fly them both to where the other plane had landed.

Part of the charm of maps is their ability to tell you exactly where your destination is and the best way to get there. This is marvellous feat is dependent on knowing roughly where you are to begin with to a more accurate degree than 'the city of Paris'. It was with the exact mindset that directing Musume down several 'shortcuts' that inevitably managed to increase her circular journey by hours as each grew increasingly longer. Her latest was down a sweeping avenue that would cut between two large boroughs and hopefully make up the time. Good signs abounded. Wide opening, important buildings on both sides of the alleyway and... laughter coming from somewhere nearby.

"Ya're going the wrong way, lass." Leaning in the shadowy recess of a sunken doorway, a stocky figure was sucking on the end of a lengthy pipe stem.

"How can you tell?" Crumpling the map into her pocket, Musume was instantly on her guard. Most people were put off by her overwhelming bloodlust that sprang at the slightest inconvenience.

"Because ya're about to head into ah network of de'dands." Despite talking in the depths of rural Paris, the talker was speaking English in a thick Irish accent that masked just about everything about it. Musume's grasp of that language was better than her French and she was able to converse at a steadier pace.

"Where's the La Avenue des Champs-Élysées?" Mangling grammar without realising it, Musume was also flustered enough by being lost in a strange city that she didn't realise she had given out more information than was safe until much later.

"Back out th' way you come, half-mile left, try again when you're in the righ' neighbourhood." An easy-going manner, charming accent and the most convenient meeting since Bruno had cornered the Signers at the opening gala of the WRDGP. If they hadn't been presenting a steady argument for being in the wrong place, Musume would have instantly launched herself at the doorway with murder in both eyes and each fist.

"Any other advice?" All of her instincts were on high alert. Partly because the dark doorway and dimly glowing pipe prevented a clear view of the figure's face, partly because it was clear this meeting was too coincidental to be true coincidence and entirely because nothing in her life had ever gone entirely according to plan.

"Aye. Don't worry about the water. Everything will work out in the end." Looking overhead presented no signs of clouds to start raining. Creaking hinges drew her attention back to the closing door as her unorthodox guide departed through a tightly hidden doorway.

"Weirdo." Despite the unusual attitude of her guide, there was no doubt that the advice was well warranted. It only took ignoring it for many minutes and fully exploring the same seven (out of more than twenty) closed alleyways before she paid any attention to it. Although she had probably left through the same avenues she entered from – having lost all certainty of direction during a length of time she promised herself to never divulge to anyone, ever – Musume had the uncanny impression that she couldn't pick out the doorway the latest intrusion into her life had hovered in. Turning out of the alleyway, she soldiered onwards with stubborn determination. Five minutes later, she turned and walked back past the alley in the direction she had actually been pointed.

* * *

 _ **If you haven't already read Chapter 16, you're all good. If you have, skip back a bit, I updated it slightly with some bits I forgot the first time around.  
**_

 _ **Apologies to everyone who received multiple update emails for this chapter. I realised I had left a few spelling mistakes and one name unchanged from an earlier draft before I published. Always check first and then leave a review after (go on, everyone loves posting a review).**_


	20. Stormy Days, Rainy Nights

Watching with a silent start, Crow found himself in luxurious surroundings. A vast sea of bedsheets and pillows kept him entombed in the lap of luxury. Rolling from the thick mattress, he tried to make sense of where he was. After such a deep sleep, he had almost found himself rested had it not been for the returning nightmares. Two stretches of six hours sleep was more than Yusei got in a week and Crow would prove he was able to get at least as much done. Murky skies outside rumbled and grumbled under a brewing storm. Draping a monogrammed robe about himself, he set about finding coffee and breakfast as events from the previous night began to seep back into his mind.

* * *

It had been almost pitch dark when Crow finally reached the road his hotel was on. Taking public transport was the best way to get around unnoticed when he could hide the day crowds but it was a literal spotlight to search at night. It was part of the reason he was late getting back. That and taking several diversion on a circular route to drop any tails. Paris mostly operated on a standard nine-to-five work day and most of the offices had been closed for about four hours. Unless – like the myriad of bulky government vans and lone police car park outside his temporary residence – they had been on a job all that time.

"What's going on?" Skipping through of the doorway to avoid a sprinting figure, the sound of vomit splattering onto the street behind Crow ruined any hint of professionalism to the persons thronging through the hotel in various levels of protective gear. One blobby mess examining the lift was even wearing a full bio-hazard suit.

"Ministry of Health and Solidarity." Screams were actually sounding somewhere else in the building as the swarm of investigators found yet another horrendous health risk. "Something about pipes." Undaunted by the ongoing investigation, the youth at reception continued to tap away at their phone. It would later be recommended that the hotel be not only demolished but burnt to the ground. An attempt to preserve the site as a historical building fell through after the appraisal committee were unwilling to set foot inside the premises. Seeing a team literally run out of what was only a kitchen in the legal sense, Crow carefully backed outside as he tried not to touch anything.

"Monsieur, are you a guest here?" Having managed to wipe most of the vomit from their mouth, the unidentifiable person beneath the overalls still looked pale from whatever they had endured inside the condemned building. "I advise you only take what cannot be replaced and throw away the rest."

"It can't be that bad." A deadpan look trumped Crow's disbelief. Growing up in the Satellite had lowered his standards but not enough to accept what was actually inside the building.

"Have you ever heard of a rat king?" It was a disgusting mess that resulted when several rats became stuck to one another in some way. Either their tails became entangled or they were fused together with some form of adhesive. The resulting organism was a hideous bundle of pain that acted as one and frequently attacked other parts of the mess. "We found three on the first floor alone." That was all Crow needed to hear. Staying at the Hipotel had allowed him to stay under Yliaster's radar but even trying to remain anonymous had limits. Limits such as the rare form of fungus somehow growing in the basement that was known to induce asphyxiation and seizures. Still, there was one question that Crow would never forgive himself for not asking.

"Just out of curiosity, what's the fourth floor like?" Then, there was a question that Crow would never forgive himself for asking.

Walking through the building was like watching a low-budget horror film. That same surly youth was comfortably seated in the only habitable chair in the entire building and skimming through their phone with a complete detachment from the battalion of suited figures. Warning tape had been futilely put up on almost every surface until the tape had run out and and things were still being found. Those squishy stairs that had left Crow lurching against bouncy walls had been temporarily replaced with planks to reliably walk between the levels.

Reaching his own floor provided an amusing if not alarming spectacle. Screaming in their panic, three suits seemed trying to tear themselves free from a room at the end of the hall. Dragging them back was several tendrils from inside the doomed area. It appeared that somebody had left a window open some years ago and ivy had not only crept into the room but also managed to coat the walls and ceiling in a thick mesh that had collapsed as soon as the examiners had actually stepped inside. Amusement aside, it was a deadly mess that only tangled the more they struggled. As an effort to streamline their report to only the most disturbing of threats to public health, Crow's room had been opened, seen as unthreatening and then left alone. Gathering his few belongings, it was almost anti-climatic when a flailing body crashed through the ceiling and smashed into his mouldy bed. There was just enough time for a frightened look before rotten floorboards gave way and the journey continued to the room below. "Don't worry too much!" Careful not to get too close to the hole himself, Crow peered through as ominous sounded from below. "There's only a couple more floors!" Then another hole opened and swallowed the yellow suit whole. Deciding not to risk staying in the building any longer, Crow hurried down to the front desk and tried to ignore team rushing past him with a pair of axes.

"Is there another hotel nearby that would still be open?" Many hotels remained open long into the night but not as late as it was then.

"Probably not. We are very late." It was unfair of him for Crow to expect a random government worker to know if there was a random hotel in the area but the faceless, genderless blob of protective suit was clearly glad for the excuse to not have to immediately go back inside. "Follow me." Leading him over to one of the many vehicles, an official looking pad was found and some notes carefully written down. Every careful action delayed going back into the hellhouse by a few seconds. "If you cannot find anywhere to go, take this to a police station." Thrusting the official document into his hand, it gave a detailed account of why the hotel had been shut. "Somebody will probably let you sleep in a corner for the night." Without much other recourse, the disgusted suit was contractually obligated to either quit or go back into the building. A tough choice but they made it as Crow silently walked off into the night, unnoticed by the swarm of officials trying to battle a building that had been preparing for the fight since before they were born.

Slouching in a nearby bench overlooking the Qui de Valmy river, Crow tried to adjust to the new reality. Even with his fame, there wasn't anywhere in Paris he could rely upon to set him up for the night. If Crow took advantage of his popularity – which would then be tarnished forever – any place he would be willing to stay would be unable to take him at such short notice. And with half a million homeless on the streets, sleeping in a park could easily result in emptied pockets and a bloody attack. For the first time since he had heard the final words of the Agent in America, Crow took a moment to think about what his decision. With nothing but a gasped message and a half-baked plan, he had booked the cheapest room he could find before his plane boarded and taken the first cab after he landed. Now he was stuck looking over the water in a foreign country without a single idea for his next move. For barely an instant, he considered calling his family. Musume would always find a way – legal or not – to further the goal. Yusei had influence. Akiza had contacts. Even Jack could probably wrangle a miracle from afar. But that would mean revealing his reason for being in Paris and they would all be quick to take action. After some careful consideration, Crow came to the inevitable conclusion that his safest option was to spend an uncomfortable night awake and alert. Then his phone rang.

" _Bonjour, je cherche Monsieur Hogan?_ " Just before the question was repeated, Crow managed to shift his thoughts into French. "I'm looking for Mr Hogan, is he there?"

"Who's this?" It was a polite voice, refined and upper-class. There was some noise in the background that reminded him of an office but it was too quiet to be one of the newspapers that so frequently found his public phones.

"La Réserve Paris, calling to confirm your booking for this evening. We are nearing our evening cut-off for checking in and noticed you had not yet collected your keys." Listening with one ear, Crow used his phone to check on the hotel name and choked slightly. Not only was it exclusive but the prices were astronomical. Whoever the mysterious leader of the Yliaster faction was, they were rolling out carpets of solid gold.

"I forget, how long did I book a room for?" At the cheapest prices available, he could last maybe three days before his every penny was taken.

"Your booking is for one month, Mr Hogan, in the Premier Junior Suite." Love lets hearts skip beats but Crow was sure his shut down for several minutes at the expense. "With the first three days paid in advance." In the grimy thoughts of his subconscious, two miniature versions of Crow fought for dominance. Maybe it would be wrong to take such an obvious bribe but the room was paid for in advance. One little voice gained an edge as the chill evening wind shredded most of his body warmth. Spending one night in the hotel wouldn't hurt anybody. It fell under the equally harmless category of 'reading a book' or 'opening a chest'. No harm ever came from such events.

"I'm a little way away. Can you wait for another hour?" From a brief look at the online map, he knew it was somewhere south-west of his position, slightly north of the Seine.

"Of course." With the prices he had just seen, Crow doubted they would object if he turned up riding an elephant. Money had a funny way of removing most problems. "Would you like us to send a car to pick you up?" Leaning forward with a sour frown, Crow found himself grudgingly appreciating the bribe from the Yliaster faction. Feeling in his toes had been slowly fading for the last few minutes.

"That would be great." Under the law of time = money and balanced equations being interchangable, money=time. So throwing enough money at the problem would cut down the journey of an hour to a few minutes. "I'm somewhere along the Qui de Valmy. Send the car to the Saint-Louis General Hospital, I'll meet it there." Yliaster had tracked down where he was staying, closed the hotel and was now setting him up in the most expensive hotel he had ever heard of. For some reason he couldn't figure out, it seemed they were keen to get on his good side.

"We look forward to seeing you soon. Is there anything you would like for your arrival?" Hoisting his bags over one shoulder, Crow took in a deep breath of the night air.

"Can I get a sandwich sent to my room? I didn't have time for dinner." By the time he arrived, it had been almost twenty hours since his last opportunity to sleep. A keycard was placed in his hand, somebody showed him to a room and there was just enough time to strip off his clothes and collapse into the bed before exhaustion caught up with him.

* * *

Having found and brewed a cup of coffee, Crow was able to focus more on the throbbing feeling in his skull. In a constant but distinct beat, it was coming from a beeping tablet set in the expensive main room. Judging from how the item had been placed in a perfect arrangement with the fruit basket and stationary on the table, it was clearly part of the hotel's items. A flashing light at the top told him a message was still waiting and he turned the device on to an unpleasant surprise.

 _Good morning, little bird._ Dropping the tablet like it was electrified, Crow backed away as he scanned for any obvious cameras. Being called 'little bird' was far from a novel experience but it was a family joke. Only a few close friends knew the reference. Snatching a phone from it's cradle on the same table as the tablet, Crow spammed the button for the reception desk until somebody picked up. "This is the Premier Suite," In his hurry, he didn't even wait for them to answer. "A message just came up on my room's tablet, can you tell me who sent it?"

"One moment, please." Dealing with rich and rude customers all days of the year gifted La Réserve with the patience of saints. "Sir, are you calling from the Premier Suite or the Premier Junior Suite?" A snarky tone stressed the word enough to irritate but not enough to lodge a complaint. "Our records indicate you are in the Premier Suite _Junior_ ," Crow was too angry right then to spare any for the French national at the front desk for the jibe at his height. "It is linked to the Imperial Suite besides your own. Would you like the manager to come up?"

"No. No, there's no need for that. Just a joke from an old friend. I'll talk with them about it." Breaking through the front door would be far too dangerous. Crow was impatient and angry but not suicidal. As a trained thief, he knew there was more than one way into a hotel room. Dropping the robe, he threw back on his clothes from the night before. They were already dirty and his idea of entry wasn't going to be an easy entry. Going outside, he checked to make sure his plan based on a picture from the web search the night before would work.

In another life, Crow could have easily competed at national levels and taken medals. Years of acrobatic evasions in the Satellite and careful maintenance of his muscles left him with a body most men would kill for instead of working towards. Slamming a chair into the corner of the balcony, he measured his steps back to the other side. Left foot, right foot, left foot on chair, right foot on rail, duck slightly under the canopy, grab pole just before the jump to swing around the pillar, realise mid-jump that the balcony on the side is further away than on this side, plummet several stories to inevitable death on the rainy pavement far below. Solid plan, flawless execution but a really dumb ending.

One of his flailing hands managed to grab part of the railing as he fell and lodged awkwardly between two struts with a pained grunt. Between blood pouring down his arm and the feel his shoulder had actually popped from the socket, Crow was fairly pleased the result. Swinging one foot into a gap further down the railings, he managed to negotiate the tricky act of clambering over the railings. Being designed to avoid falling over unintentionally, a minor height difficulty presented itself. How minor he would not disclose but a generous bet would have been made to about a foot higher than comfortable. Careful to avoid disturbing the furniture on this side or making even the slightest noise, he dropped down to the floor in a slight crouch. Taking off his shirt, he wrapped it tightly about the deep cuts and clenched it into a fist to staunch the flow of blood.

A balcony ran outside several rooms and provided the perfect view to peer inside. His unorthodox intrusion had landed him outside a dining room of some sort with a set for six arranged on the table. From what Crow could see, nothing had been used and the drinking cabinet hadn't been touched. Silent as before, he moved on.

Next was a comfortable lounge that was as empty as before. Hackles rose as he crept past. If the tablet had been hacked from afar, the message could have come from anywhere on the planet. It also meant that he would have to duplicate the extraordinary feat of jumping around the pillar. Blood already staining his shirt made it clear that another attempt would not be taken well.

After the comfort lounge came a business one and Crow struck metaphorical gold. Sitting plain on the table was a sleek laptop. Unlike the skilled Yusei, hacking a computer in under three minutes was not his expertise. Luckily, he came a close second and could probably crack it open inside seven.

Trying for the handle, he eased open the door. It was clear that somebody had to be using the room for the door to be unlocked and Crow was careful not to make a noise as he stepped inside. Somewhere further down the suite, running water could be heard. If he was quick, he could be in the computer and copying files before the shower stopped. Of course, that was assuming the owner of the laptop was actually in the shower.

Almost before his fingertips had made contact with the keys, a sturdy blow landed at the base of his skull. In the instant between his head hitting the floor and the world going hazy, Crow was able to dimly spot the thick folds of curtains beside the door he had just entered through. It was such an obvious hiding spot that a child would have hidden there and he hadn't thought to look there. With double-vision letting him see everything twice, he was unable to clearly see exactly who carried him into the room and dropped him on a low couch.

Sharp stings from his hand indicated it was being patched up and Crow drew the drew the marginally logical conclusion that whoever he had disturbed was either not going to hurt him or had already called hotel security to come and take him away. Then his vision cleared and one of those facts stopped being true.

"Before we begin with the torture," Lifting a chair over, one of the most dangerous people in the world somehow managed to lower it in a threatening manner. "Can I have my shirt back?" It was slightly too cold for his liking and the former bandage was nowhere to be seen.

"What are you doing in my city?" Emerald eyes bored a hole straight through his cranium and risked the structural safety of the wall behind.

"Well, somebody's doing well for themselves. Here I was thinking the Mayor of Paris was Marie Hidalgo." It was a tiny yet specific fact that threw his interrogator slightly. "It was a long flight and there was a leaflet to read." He was only half lying but there was no to recognise about what.

"What are you doing in my city, little bird?" Leaning forward, the burning stare started to singe his eyebrows.

"What's it to you?" In reply, one earlobe was savagely yanked to the side. "Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow, I'll tell, I'll tell." Slapping the hand away, he was briefly amazed at the powerful grip it had. "Seriously, 'little bird'? Do you know how many times I've heard that one growing up?"

"Stop detracting from the question." A hearty slap to his ringing head made it clear now was a bad time to play around as he risked more head trauma.

"Two years without being in the same room and that's how you treat a friend?" A threatening pinch hovered just before his nose.

"Talk." It was strangely effective as psychological interrogation went. In a futile effort to protect himself, Crow crossed his arms slightly higher than usual.

"Sherry, you really need to work on your people skills." It had been five years since they had been in the same room together but there was still that angry furrow between her eyebrows every time she looked at him. "Let's just say I'm here for a friend." Leaning back in the chair, she continued to scowl at him.

"Which friend?" There was a pointed glance to indicate that

"One of many." It was a tongue-in-cheek joke but she picked up on it somehow and scowled even harder as she raised her fingers threateningly. "What's it matter to you anyway?"

"Crow Hogan comes to Paris and stays in the cheapest hotel available? It is enough to pique my interest." A flicker sparked between them as she realised the mistake.

"Who told you were I was staying?" Burning stares seemed a lot less forceful when the power swung in his favour. "Did you call the health board?"

"Are you here for Yliaster?" What small possibility for banter had existed went down the drain. Suddenly there was a blanket, boiling kettle and more seriousness than a funeral.

"Something happened in America. Something... not good." Sherry recognised that look behind his eyes. Harrowed from something few people would ever understand. What had happened to him across the pond was far beyond the experiences of most humans and he was coping so far by virtue of crushing the memories down into the back of his mind. It was deeply unhealthy and would only bring him additional pain in the days ahead but it allowed him to function normally for a short time. Even with the extra stress, Crow could see the unasked question hovering in her gaze. "A friend of mine died in a Shadow Duel. His soul is stuck in the Underworld." Though she had operated at the other end of the Yliaster timeline, a brief history had covered the early days and how her predecessors had used less mechanical methods. "Yliaster targetted us in the Pegasus Cup and I almost lost. They sent me down there," Darkness reflected in his gaze. "I want to get him out. They told me to meet them here." Something finally broke through his memories and lodged into his mind. "How did _you_ know I was in Paris? I tried to keep myself under the radar."

"Musume called me." Of course she had. Any time events went sideways, Musume was right in the middle of the mess in her attempts to make them better. "She knew you were in Paris and tracked you down almost as soon as she landed." Crow might have learned the hard way how to be invisible but Musume had grown up learning how to find him. She knew ways to find Crow with signs that even he didn't know he left behind. "She said she would come meet me after following up on some leads but has not yet returned." An ominous rumble of thunder marked her words. "A contact has agreed to meet with us this evening. It is not a meeting we can rearrange."

"Why are you so eager to help us?" Not that it needed much explanation, considering her past relationship with the sinister organisation. "Yliaster left you alone. There's no reason to jeopardise that."

"Shut up and put a shirt on." Not exactly inspiring words but ones to take to heart. "If it means taking them down, I will even partner up with the fourth place Duellist of a small tournament." Cutting remarks that were underscored by more thunder and the first waves of rain against the glass of the windows.

* * *

In a far away city on the other side of the world, night was setting under that a storm that seemed set to cover the entire world. Yusei was sitting on the far corner of his bed. Various open books were strewn about atop the duvet for reference as he continued flicking through a thick wedge of paper on his lap. "What's up?" It took a second for Akiza to recognise that their were a pair of reading glasses perched in the messy reaches of his hair.

"Glasses?" Dragging over the chair, she watched him pull the spectacles down and examine them for a few seconds.

"Mmm, I need them for small print after a couple of days without sleep." It still amazed her how he could speak so easily of his condition. Even advanced terminal patients had a hint of pity or sadness to their voice. Yet Yusei seemed to speak with the same dispassion that came with talking about the weather.

"What are you working on?" Clearing the floor side of his bed, he patted the pillow purchase invitingly, continuing to read the wedge of paper as he did so.

"It's a medical text a friend wrote. Quite interesting." Taking an offered medical textbook as she sat down, Akiza was mildly surprised to see cross-sections of the human brain. "But I'm fairly sure there are a few mistakes. Can you read from," Peering over the plastic frames of his glasses, a roving finger slowly homed in on a mid-paragraph sentence near the beginning of the page. "Here." Another crack of thunder closed the book with a snap.

"Sorry." Though the books managed to absorb almost an entire decibel of sound, the next bolt of lightning crashed close enough for shattering tiles to reach ringing ears and she jumped again.

"Not a fan of storms?" Gathering up the cluttered books, Yusei dumped the texts onto his windowsill and draped the thick blanket from the foot of his bed about his friend. Another bout of unstoppable thunder had his friend clutching at the book in her hands.

"Because all brain areas are bidirectionally coupled, these connections between brain areas form feedback loops. Positive feedback loops tends to cause oscillatory activity where frequency is inversely related" She practically shouted over the next burst of thunder, "to the delay time. An example of such a feedback loop is the connections between the thalamus and cortex. This thalamocor," Her dictation broke off mid-flow as Yusei stole the book from out of her hands to check himself.

"That can't be right." Checking against the file still balanced on one knee, he continued to blast through the textbook and report with one hand each. "I think my friend may have skipped a few bits." Turning the page changed his grin of triumph to a frown of discontent. "Surprised once again." Shivering from another blast of thunder, Akiza finally broke past what society deemed ignorable and Yusei finally merged the stack of paper with the book to keep his place in both works. "Tell me what's wrong."

Drawing her knees to her chest, Akiza wrapped her arms around them into an upright foetal position. "I don't like loud noises." Even to her ears, the lie sounded fake.

"So Duelling, Runners and working the graveyard shifts are suddenly silent activities?" Once again, flawless Fudo logic put an end to an argument. It took another two minutes of heavy lightning and Yusei pulling out the paper again before she finally felt comfortable enough to start talking.

"It was after my Psychic Powers showed up for the first time." A hand wrapped around where her Mark had once been burnt. "My parents were terrified of me – eating separately, leaving me with television for hours on end." At the time, she had assumed they were just caught up in their normal busy lives. But the endless weeks of avoidance had eventually sept through. "After about three months, there was this huge storm." Playing the part to perfection, fate sent another sheet of lightning around the city. "I cried and went to my parents room. Their faces," She could still recall it in perfect detail. "They were more scared of me than I was of the storm. And do you know what they said? 'Go back to your room'." A strong arm wrapped itself around her shoulders and she was pulled against something warm and solid, thumping in a perfect rhythm.

For several minutes, she just lay there and listened to the sound of his heartbeat. Even as the lightning came increasingly closer, it continued to pump away with a reassuring regularity. It took a while for her own heartrate to slow back down to normal standards but the sound of his being made the process possible. "Better?" Nodding from where she was nestled against his chest, Akiza managed to worm her arm behind her back, preventing the blocked bloodflow from escalating to the inevitable pins and needles sensation.

"What exactly are you reading?" As he leant forward to reach the paper and book it was trapped in, the momentary shift in weight caused Akiza's arm to fall between the pillows he had been resting against. This would normally have been fine as soon as she retracted her arm had he had not moved back before she could do so. At that point, her muddled and tired brain was unable to think of a good way to explain how her arm was semi-wrapped around his back.

"It's an obscure dissertation that's not yet been appreciated by the academic community." From what little her blurred vision could make out, it was written in a tiny hand and Yusei had scribbled a series of notes on the sides.

"What's it about?" She closed her eyes. It would just be for a minute. Just until the thunder stopped.

"Some wacky student wrote several pages," Another inconsequential page pointed out just how much had been written. "Several _dozen_ pages on the unexplored effects of brainwaves that fluctuate between point-five-seven to four and upwards of sixty hertz." Through the tired fuzz currently settling across her mind, Akiza was able to recognise the numbers.

"Delta and gamma brainwaves." Something about it seemed familiar to her.

"Exactly." Another page turned and the sound of gentle scratching managed to make its way past the pouring rain as Yusei inscribed another note in the margin. "But what this upstart claims is that these particular patterns seem to bounce between delta and gamma without passing through theta, alpha and the rest." More notes were scrawling across the pages and into Akiza's mind. "The really strange thing is that the gamma durations are significantly higher and longer than most others on record."

At long last, Akiza managed to crack an eye open by her own will. "Hang on," She dragged her free arm over to pull the paper into her vision. "That's my paper." Eight years of political tutoring by her father and several more with competing brothers and the watchful Martha had taught Yusei perfect acting skills which he never let go without practice.

" _Is_ it?" Keeping a thumb between pages, he flipped back to the front cover. Although it was written mainly in German, two words had been written in both German and Japanese: Akiza Izinski. "That explains the German." A light smack on his muscled chest indicated her disapproval of mockery. Flicking back to his current page, Yusei continued his patient reading.

"How do you like it so far?" Closing her eyes again, she waited for the inevitable constructive criticism. There was a stubborn reputation in the academic world that Yusei found the smallest of loopholes and mistakes in any new advancement and patched them up for the creator. Everybody both loved and hated it.

"Most of it goes over my head." That comment usually foreshadowed a crippling blow to the work at hand. "And either my German is rusty or there are a few spelling mistakes." Giving a tired sigh, Akiza nestled slightly closer to his heartbeat as the rain continued to pound against the window. Without her noticing, the lightning seemed to have finally died down.

"I know the bits you mean. It'll all make sense when you finish reading." Rapid flicking betrayed his impatience as Yusei skipped to the end. "Told you." There had been a computer issue after her paper had been handed in and digitised. Her references and indexing had been spliced throughout the paper and scrambled in the back. It had all been sorted and released in a separate file but Yusei seemed to have stumbled across an older copy by mistake.

"Still, there are a few people at the SRC who might be interested in doing some research on this." Another page turned, another part of the incredibly complex theory lay before him. "If you think it could take Dr Kovacs down a peg or two, I will personally fund it and give you all the staff and equipment you ask for." She managed to reach across and give him a tired hug at the words as he continued his reading. Although there was no clear way to decide from where he was, the rain outside seemed to be slacking from a torrential downpour. By the turn of the hour, Yusei was nearing the final pages – without skipping ahead this time – and the rain had slackened to a series of steady sheets which crashed against the window like waves on a beach.

"Well," Dropping his glasses on the windowsill, Yusei rubbed tired eyes. German was one of the first dozen languages he had studied but it still gave him headaches after reading for several hours. "That was certainly a page-turner." Realising that an arm was still loosely draped across his chest, he jostled Akiza slightly and received a light snore in response. Without either person noticing, she had somehow fallen into a deep sleep. Careful not to wake her, Yusei gently pushed the dissertation atop the pile of books on the windowsill and let his head fall back, leaning ever so slightly atop Akiza as he did so. Dawn was still a few hours off and he would spend the time thinking about the almost outlandish theories that Akiza had conceived some years ago that he still had not even thought of the most basic principles of.

 _ **Happy Valentine's Day! Leave a review if you want, leave two if you really want and re-read the entire story if you really, really want.**_


	21. Sebastien

In the eight years since Sherry had been a part of the Signer's misadventures, she had begun the arduous task of reclaiming her parent's company. There were many difficulties with her course of action. Once Yliaster had their grip on anyone or anything, they were reluctant to let go. Anybody who tried to stand directly against them generally met with unfortunate accidents or were more thoroughly destroyed. Her tactic to overcome this horrifying reality had been simple but effective – tell the truth. Without naming names, she had declared that a group had murdered her parents in an effort to claim their company. As sole surviving heir to the wealthy LeBlanc fortune, her claims had been taken a bit more seriously than most. Once DNA tests had confirmed her identity, she had set about a systematic purge of any possible trace of Yliaster from her company. Anybody who might have complained was pacified after she fired several corrupt division leaders and used their wealthy paychecks to raise the wage of the common worker.

Most people would have been satisfied with a wealthy company, lucrative contracts with everyone from KaibaCorp to Industrial Illusions and a mansion big enough to fit a small factory inside. Not Sherry. Barely as soon as her feet had touched home soil, she carefully began spreading a network of hidden people, unobtrusive investigators and outright criminal informants across not just Paris but most of her country. While she was unable to directly pursue Yliaster, this elaborate system gave her at least some warning about if they tried to retaliate to their loss. Of all her contacts, there was one she kept particularly close after he had proven almost omniscience about anything in Paris. It was this man they were going to see now.

Septime was the sort of exclusive restaurant that required five months notice to get a seat at the bar and handing over a first-born to maybe get a seat for dinner. Of all the clothes Crow had brought with him, he had put on the nicest jacket, smartest shirt, most expensive trousers and even combed his hair back until he looked halfway presentable by the high standards of the restaurant. "You look disappointed." Careful not to actually laugh at his face, Sherry squeezed past an overflowing dumpster and shouldered through a throng of smoking waiters in the crowded alleyway. Trying to mimic the manoeuvrer, Crow was reminded in no polite words that he was not a beautiful woman and didn't get the same leeway.

"When you said we'd be meeting your friend at Septime," Something squelched under his shoe and Crow decided not to check the damage. It was better he didn't know what he had stepped in. "I thought you meant in the _nice_ part." Unlike himself, Sherry had dressed in practical jeans and a warm turtleneck jumper.

"These _are_ the nice parts." A figure stepped out from the throng of waiters with a smirk on his narrow face. "Sherry!" Throwing up his hands, the figure moved to embrace her with the air of an old friend

"Sebastien!" She moved to do the same but suddenly lashed out and punched him square in the face. "You still owe me my seventy Francs."

"Ah, fiery as ever." Raising a hand, Crow saw that she had only made enough contact to tweak his nose. "Besides, you bought those notes fair and square."

"They were fakes and you know it." Bartering and intellectual flirtation flared in equal parts in the continuation of a game older than her relation to Crow. "Give me my money back."

"Aaaahh," Went the sort of stammer that preceded bad news. "How about a favour? Everybody needs a favour now and then, eh?" A gleam shot from her eyes and Sebastien saw the trap she had set. "Ah, Sherry. My friend," Sebastien covered his heart with both hands and turned to Crow. "She is like fire. Just when you think you have a handle on things, you get burnt." Criminal to criminal, Crow could see the act Sebastien was playing. He seemed like a laughing fool who got by with humour but dealt with the information he accrued more effectively than a few jokes could. "But you, you know this already." A glance went to Crow's bandaged hand.

"What, this?" Pulling back sleeve to reveal the neat wrapping down to his wrist, Crow gave a wry smile. "She caught me trying to sneak a look whilst she was in the shower." An unspoken moment passed before two conmen burst out laughing. They had each gauged the other and evaluated their worth with the trained eyes of a criminal.

"You take care of this one, Sherry. He is a good man." Pushing Crow back by one shoulder, Sherry gave a tight smile to indicate the opening of the business phase.

"That remains to be seen." Sebastien caught the professional tone and instantly morphed from jokester to criminal informant.

"I take it you're going to ask me for that favour now." Tugging his jacket straight, he dropped the laughing tones. "Since you brought along some help, I'm guessing it's for something big." Not offended at being referred to as the 'help', Crow watched the bargaining unfold with a calculating eye. Sherry and Sebastien had history but neither was playing it as an advantage just yet.

"What have you heard lately?" It didn't take a genius to understand what they were talking about.

"Hey, scram. Get back to work." Handing over small piles of bills, he hurried the staff back into the kitchen. Within minutes, there was enough noise to drown out their conversation. "Cigarette?" Pulling a slim stick from his pocket, he offered the box to the other two people in the alley. Lighting his own, he held it there long enough to measure their decision of earning favour over holding true to their convictions. "By myself then." Taking a deep drag on the death stick, he politely blew the smoke in the opposite directions from his clients. "How much does he know?"

"Enough." Eyeing Crow up and down, the other criminal nodded once.

"Hmm. It's hard trying to keep tabs on this group you don't even name." Taking another drag on the stick, he savoured the nicotine rush. "Nobody wants to talk about them for some reason. Maybe it's all the bodies they don't find. That's the trick." Stabbing the glowing tip several times, he glared with a trained eye. "Finding the places nobody is talking about. Of course, sometimes people don't talk because they have no reason to?" It was clear what he meant. A tantalising tease was free to most people who came his way but anything more would cost them.

"How much did those francs cost?" Squinting at Sherry's game face, he sought cracks to wriggle through. Years of training had taught her not to display any and she was the better player.

"Touché." Dragging deeply until his cigarette fizzled out, he crushed the remaining portion in his fist and slipped it into his pocket. People like Sebastien only kept themselves in business by avoiding leaving any trace behind. Even the brand had been selected because the ash would crumble down too finely to be easily found and left little lingering smell. "Hypothetically, what if you only had a few days to act on what I know? Would that maybe net me a little something?"

"It would maybe incentivise me to get you to talk." As much as Sherry didn't like the interruption, she had to stifle a smile at Crow's empty threats. Only those who knew him in advance would know it was a bluff but it was a damn good one. "Kneecaps are a good one. Slow to fix, lots of pain." Again, Sebastien had to evaluate the new player in the conversation.

"You must really like her." All humour had dropped from the conversation now. It was polite but deadly serious. Unlike Sherry, who was blinded by a previous history with Crow, Sebastien could see there was no bluff. Crow would really break a few bones to get the information the Frenchman was hiding.

"I'm mostly in this for my own reasons." Flicking his gaze between the pair, Sebastien came to a decision.

"Walk with me." Dragging a bag from behind the dumpster, he lead the pair out of the alleyway and down a series of side-streets before picking the conversation back up. "These people you are looking for, they are dangerous." A car came up from behind and Sebastien dropped down a gear as it came parallel. Enough close calls had missed him in the past that he lowered the odds of a succession as much as possible. Driving slowly, Sebastien waited until it had left the end of the street and they had joined a new one before he continued talking. "I have lost two people already. That is not uncommon but nobody can be certain who did it. Put this on." Dragging a pair of thick black coats from his bag, he passed one to Sherry and donned the other himself. "Turn out your jacket, it has a dark lining, no?" Caught up in the fast-paced criminal activity, Crow felt the familiar rush of thrill that came with being chased. It was intoxicating after so many years.

"Where are we going?" Turning onto the main road, both lesser criminals marvelled at the skills and planning of the master before them.

"To a funeral." Sliding a black cap over to Crow and Sherry, Sebastien turned up his collar. Crossing the road, they joined a long procession of easily several hundred people. "A big lady in the community died, lovely lady. I actually bought her a beautiful vase once. She sold it and broke my heart." That jovial attitude was marred by a sincere note of sorrow. "Used the money to fund a local school with extra resources. Wonderful woman." Sliding to the other side of Crow, he linked their arms together. "Hey, last time I tried this with her, she broke two of my ribs. You want my help, you take that risk." Gingerly holding out his arm, Crow withered under the distasteful aura coming from his right side. In grim silence, they joined the funeral procession.

It was a slow and panicking walk. Every inch he went, Crow scanned a new face. Chasing after Yliaster was not without risk. Any one of the grieving mourners could slip a blade between his ribs and mix in with the crowd before anybody realised. "Relax." A waft of lavender perfume heightened his panic as Sherry leaned into his ear. "You'll attract too much attention."

"She's right, monsieur." Sebastien leaned in from the other side and finalised a disturbing little cluster of criminality. "Relax your shoulders, breathe in that air. Drink in the sorrow of these people," A broken jaw loomed in his future. "Realise that life happens regardless. The only score that matters is the people who cry at your passing." As futures so often do, this one passed unfulfilled. Lowering his stance slightly, Crow took more note of his surroundings as people instead of potential targets. Dozens of women were crying, a few confused children were huddling together here and there. Men trying to be tough marched in stony silence with the occasional tear leaking out. Dozens of people, maybe hundreds had turned out for one little old lady. Maybe only a small percentage had personally known her, maybe they all only had a passing familiarity. Regardless of the reason, nearly a thousand people had crammed into the tiny cemetery. Only a few people would be allowed to fit in at the final ceremony but they all turned up anyway.

"It's nice." For the first time since being sent to the Netherworld, he tried for a smile that didn't have to fool his family. It was sadder than happy and full of pain but it was progress.

"This way." Breaking from the flow of the crowd, Sebastien practically dragged them towards a small mausoleum with a rusty gate. A sharp squeal was lessened by holding tight to the gate. Once they had all slipped inside, he closed the gate again and backed into the room. Looking through the grate, it was strange to see people walking past just inches away without even seeing them. Holding a quiet finger to his lip, Sebastien led the trio deeper into the tombs, down stairwells and along corridors. Whoever had built that particular design had planned for plenty of future corpses. "Okay, we can stop here." Halting at a crossroads deep beneath the ground, Sebastien carelessly tipped some decaying flowers from a dusty pot. "Empty your pockets in here." Glancing at Sherry, Crow waited until she gave a nod before following the order. "Can't be too careful." In the spirit of comradeship, Sebastien dropped everything he had – par a fresh cigarette – into the vase as well. Sliding it down behind a raised altar, he lead them down another dusty tunnel.

At the end lay a pair of shackled gates with a carefully coloured chain and lock. At a glance, it seemed that it was just another locked gate for nobody to enter through but Crow spotted the discrepancies almost as fast as Sherry did. The chain wasn't rusted and peeling but painted in shades of brown and coated in metal flakes. Though the keyhole cover probably was jammed in that position, it was enough to scrape a thin key past. Behind the gate just lay a rotten wooden door that was out of place with the rest of mausoleum décor of dusty varnish. In the time it took most people to dismiss the door, both of them had figured out what lay behind and Crow knew enough to be officially impressed by Sebastien's skill set.

One of the many famous French attractions to tourists the world over is the Parisian Catacombs. Built as a refuge from the overflowing cemeteries, they had been largely forgotten until the early 19th century had recreated them as a macabre venue for small concerts and private parties. What few people bothered to find out was their origins as part of a subterranean mine system. After years of abandonment and neglect, cave-ins started posing a threat to the people above ground, Paris had formed a team to ensure their upkeep, stability and safety of the peoples above. Though legally off limits to civilians, a few more daring thieves made use of the tunnels to sneak about. It was dangerous and often fatal but a handful had persevered.

Unlike the rusty gate to get inside, the entrance to the underground tunnels opened soundlessly with only the noise of the rattling chain to disturb the dead. Reaching through the gates, Sebastien secured the padlock once again before closing the doors and plunging them all into relative darkness cast by the dangling cigarette. After a moment of quiet rustling and a sharp slap, light blossomed in the hands of the Frenchman. "Ah, here we go." He looked at the growing strain on Crow's face then to Sherry's scowl and crossed arms. "To business?"

"Why all the secrecy?" Something scurried in the tunnel behind him and Crow shivered in instinctive fear.

"It's my lucky day." Careful not to drop the tiny torch, Sebastien rubbed his hands in glee. "I've got something _big_ to sell." There was something about the look in his eye. It wasn't greedy exactly. More like the satisfaction of a long-con suddenly paying off.

"What do you know?" Something about the way his greed was shining through unnerved Crow. It usually meant one of two things. Either the information was extremely important or time sensitive. Both put the balance of power with the person in the know and let them force up the price.

"That group you're looking for? One of my friends has heard whispers where they might be hiding. That woman you told me to keep an ear out for is with them as well, got into Paris just today." Uneasy silence echoed around the narrow passage as Crow looked at Sherry and was blanked in return.

"What woman?" Standing slightly closer, Crow did his best not to overly intimidate her with the pressure of the question. "What woman, Sherry?" It was a non-question at best. Their overlap in female acquaintances was a short list of fewer than five people. With Luna and Akiza heading back to New Domino and unless Martha had taken to jetting off without notice, there was really only the one person it could be.

"Nobody told me she had woken up. If it had not been for the tournament, I would not have known she was still alive." Sebastien watched the exchange with glee. Information was well and good but juicy gossip greased palms better and easier than crumpled bills. Keeping the tap on just took a few careful nudges.

"This woman, she is important, no? Since she went in, nobody has come out. Lots of deliveries though." There it was, a tiny pause from all the parties as water began creeping higher up the banks of the information river. "Could it be worth something to know what the little bird told me?" Criminals who work on the street learn to see fast and react faster. It was possible that nobody else in the criminal population of France had better reactions than Sebastien. As his palms rose to stop the attack, Crow had the skill and inclination to grip at least one finger from each hand and included it in the grip he suddenly had of the funeral jacket.

"From one 'little bird' to another?" Acting more out of professional concern for her contact than genuine care, Sherry was spewing empty threats at Crow from behind. Whatever inner conviction that was driving him forward had the possibility of also driving the price down. "Share the worm before the bigger bird gets angry with you." After long enough to make his point, Crow lowered the struggling feet back to the floor. It had only been the heat of the moment that had let him pick up the information broker and the strain took a toll as soon as the adrenaline spike had flared down. "Just tell us what you can. We can negotiate a price after." It took a long time – and Sherry agreeing to drop the cost of her fake francs – before Sebastien agreed to the revised terms.

"Schools are out for summer at the moment. Buildings stand empty, resources go unused. What are the authorities to do? Loan them out for quick cash." What schooling Crow had undertaken prior to the rejoining of Satellite to New Domino had been frequent and unending at the kitchen table by a roster of retired professionals Martha knew about the wastelands. It was surprisingly advanced over the city kids but it been without that social paradigm of proper schooling so terms like 'holiday' where theoretical. "Unless they stopped caring about making money, one of them is unusually quiet for this time of year. Not just the school but all the normal crimes as well. Drugs, women, gambling. Nothing normal has happened since this chick showed up yesterday." Chewing over his options, he looked between the two. Years of working with Sherry had built a professional trust and Crow looked ready to tear off a few limbs. "Check out University Eight. A guy I know sent me a picture of that girl going in, then everything goes weird. Lots of deliveries, nobody on campus. Official word is security testing but my guys in that business haven't heard anything of the sort." Security guards gossiped so much that they were the biggest flaw in any system. If they didn't know anything, it was because somebody was making sure that nobody knew.

"University Eight? You're sure?" Operating from the university was a near perfect ploy. It would allow Yliaster access to nearly impossible resources and meant any number of experts could waltz around in broad daylight without the need to explain themselves.

"Hey, I've been paid more for less." A practical businessman, Sebastien didn't waste time trying to make a mountain out of his molehill. "Speaking of pay?" Look Sebastien straight in the eye, Crow searched for deception. It was in everything the broker did but not in his information.

"Twice your usual rate if you can get us there undetected." A wince from Sherry indicated it was a costly offer. Information brokers who never failed to deliver inevitably had high prices attached.

"Done." Grabbing Crow's hand before he could move, Sebastien shook it with the greed of a businessman stealing a small fortune. "I like you, Sherry, but your friend is stupid." It was the handshake that did it. Without even realising, Sebastien had jumped into a bear trap with both feet and a smile.

"Not as much as you think. University Eight is just beside the St Denis station. There are cameras in every direction for an easy mile and every single one of them will be used." Tightening his grip enough to be uncomfortable but not painful, Crow continued talking. "Of course, you knew all this which is why you brought us into the catacombs first. Tunnels stretch all across the centre of Paris but can't go as far north as University Eight in Saint-Denis." That grip was now tight enough to feel the pounding heart inside each finger. "A tributary of the Seine cuts them off. Did you know Napoleon set the first plans?" Tearing his grip free, Sebastien was forced to reevaluate the small man once again. His knowledge of France was extensive.

"Not many people know this but a hidden tunnel was constructed between the cathedral and the catacombs by André Félibien during the early eighteenth century. He feared rebels would steal their relics led him to advise the king to create a secret connection to the catacombs." Only a few documents in museum archives record the changes in the subterranean systems. Only some old documents and a few skilled thieves who knew how to get past police blockades. "During the French Revolution, insurgents led a mob to do just such a thing but the treasures had been spirited away. Priests declared it an 'act of god' to avoid scandal." It was a story that deserved to go down in history and might one day – if Sebastien lived long enough to retire and share the secret. "We can walk there in an hour. After that, I can stroll across the park to the hospital and borrow an ambulance." An unabashed air spoke volumes to his familiarity with either the staff or the theft. Both worked well. "I deliver you to the university morgue as fresh corpses for the biology students and you can snoop around for as long as you want. Getting out is your problem." In an unconscious display of self-congratulation, he reached for the pocket his cigarettes usually waited in.

* * *

 _ **Egads, a surprise chapter?! Best leave a review!**_

 _ **This chapter is dedicated to my friends, Karla and Nick, who each taught me a lot and gave me some great opportunities over the years.**_


	22. Past is Prologue

Dawn broke to something completely unexpected for the average Poppo Time morning – everyone inside was asleep. Hoshi had managed to somehow enter into a locked room and was snuggled comfortably at the end of the bed. Some hair had fallen across Akiza's face where she still lay against a sturdy chest with pounding heart. The heart inside was pounding because the owner was waking from the deepest sleep they had had in over four years. No matter how exhausted it could become, a highly trained instinct couldn't be ignored forever. After only eight hours (of the many hundreds he had stored up) Yusei was begrudgingly drawn back into the land of the living.

'Dragged' was probably a better term. Part of him was perfectly happy with the bit that came before waking up and continued trying to point the upsides of the situation (such as not dying) even after he was awake.

Opening his eyes was an unusually pleasant experience for the first time that he could remember. No headache, bleeding eyes, spewing bile or horrifying realisation that it had been only a few minutes and that the bad stuff was still on the way. Seeing the cuddly cat companion comfortably curled near his feet was a nice start. An oddly comfortable pressure was leaning against his side with a smell he couldn't quite identify. Then his brain got back from the first vacation in eight years and the most obvious scenario sprang to mind.

"Akiza? Akiza!" Waking up to a friend shouting in one ear is either the sign of deep trouble or a great night. This was exactly midway between them both.

"Urgh, ssshhh!" Rubbing her eyes, Akiza was quicker on the uptake than her companion from frequent experience with sleep.

"What did you do?!" Shaking her slightly in his overwhelming fear, Yusei had jumped to both the worst and most incorrect scenario possible he could have drawn from the available data.

"What? Nothing!" Slapping both hands away, she stumbled from the bed and pulled her jumper into order. "What's wrong with you?" Part of that question was just reactive but part of her was wondering if there was some new development in his symptoms.

"Akiza, I've been asleep and I have no idea how." Such an innocuous statement went without recognition for a moment before her eyes widened in understanding. "Did you do something?" Finally realising what he might be afraid of, she flinched slightly at the thought. Healing such a grievous injury with her Psychic abilities could have easily turned fatal and it was out of this panic that he was reacting.

"Believe me when I tell you I have no idea how or why you were able to sleep last night," Every word resounded with sincerity and Yusei had complete faith that she was telling the truth. Then real life came back. "Look, Ogino messaged me yesterday to come in early. Come by the lab later and we'll run some tests. Maybe your body has managed to find some way to cope by itself or we might be able to recreate this event with medication. Either way, this is a big step forwards." She hurried out of the room to get to work, rush through the meeting with Ogino and start making some serious progress on her research.

Sliding himself from the edge of the bed, Yusei stretched and felt as if an intense burden had been lifted for a moment. Feeling so invigorated and filled with life made him feel like there was nothing he couldn't do. So he decided – since it would be impossible to get any work done with the media circus outside – it was long overdue to answer an old question that had been burning in his mind a bit more brightly of late.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late." Hair still fluttering into place, Akiza felt that she had sprinted from Poppo Time directly to Ogino's office at the SRC. Mainly because just about every accessible pathway was crawling journalists and reporters. Most of the SRC was having fun by going up to them and explaining various avenues of science until either the journalists did something to warrant getting removed or they left of their own accord. "Are you going somewhere?" A bag was being back on the chair behind the desk and Ogino looked more unhappy than usual at the delay.

"A friend in Poland has fallen ill but didn't go to a doctor until it was almost too late. She was always too stubborn for her own good." Tidying up a few more files and folders, Ogino gently closed the top of her leather satchel. "Breast cancer. Her sister and I will be helping her during recovery... or whatever may come." Much like Akiza was having to prepare for the possibility that she couldn't save Yusei, her superior was having to do the same for a friend of her own. There was still plenty of hope for each but they had to acknowledge that hopes could be let down.

"Sorry to hear that." Therapies had come a long way but more advanced cases still had lower chances of success. Ogino would have to be extremely precise in her treatments. "How can I help?"

"Somebody will need to keep an eye on things while I'm gone." It took a moment before Akiza was able to speak again. This was a big job.

"I'm flattered but," Gruff laughter cut short her attempts to turn away the promotion that hadn't been coming anyway.

"What, did you think I was going to put you in charge of the entire medical division?" Flushing slightly, Akiza realised that she had been expecting so momentous after being called to the office and told Ogino was leaving. "You're good but not _that_ good. And you haven't exactly been here long enough to fill in for me." Gentle criticisms complete, she held out a thin slip of plastic for the doctor to take. "But there is one thing I want you to take off my hands." Taking the blank card, Akiza turned it over to realise a new copy of her SRC identification card.

"What's this for?" No noticeable change marked it as different from her current one than the lack of tiny nicks and scratches accumulated from any use.

"Remember when I originally hired you?" How could anyone forget? It had been a mysterious job offer by somebody she vaguely remembered. Then when Akiza had recalled Ogino's former occupation as the Minister of Health and signed up to what she had assumed would be basic medical duties scant seconds before Yusei arrived with a look of vague horror. His retaliatory joke of declaring the new hire 'Deputy Medical Director' had taken Ogino weeks to clear up.

"You said you wanted somebody unafraid of authority." By which she had meant somebody who wouldn't be overwhelmed by Yusei's celebrity status or influenced by his position.

"Try and hold onto that thought. You're in charge of Yusei's case while I'm gone." Peeling off her lab coat, Ogino hung it on a rack by the door and switched it out for a tan jacket. "Your new card has access to everywhere in the SRC as long as Yusei is there. Let me know if there's any progress on a cure. Have fun." With no more intensity than putting on a hat, she quietly left her office as the words started to sink into Akiza's mind.

"Waitaminute!" Chasing her boss down the corridor, it was possible to see the gears turning inside her head. "Shouldn't this be something for whoever fills in for you?"

"Yusei was extremely clear that he wanted the circle of people who knew about condition kept small." Which hadn't kept that circle from slowly expanding. First Ogino as a confident, Martha as his mother, Akiza when she found out. Then his brothers, their friends. Even Din knew about the medical side if not the patient themselves. And that was just the people that Yusei had told. "Don't worry, I left instructions to back whatever decisions you make. I was hoping to tell Yusei as well but he hasn't been in yet. Do you know where he might be?"

* * *

"Dear, have you seen my cufflinks?" Pinching the ends of his cuffs together in one hand, Hideo Izinski was sadly aware that his ability to track the political field was only matched by his inability to keep an eye on his own possessions. Setsuko did her best to mitigate these frequent disasters but there was only so much she could do. Hurrying down the stairs, Hideo began looking under cushions and furniture in the living room. How they would have found their way there from his bedroom would have been a question for the ages. "Dear?"

"On the side." Hearing that particularly non-wife voice paused Hideo in his search. Peeking his head around the corner that led into the kitchen, an unpleasant surprise was waiting for him in the most unexpected package. "Sweetie."

"Yusei!" While the young man was always a welcome guest to the household, Hideo usually had a bit more warning he was coming. "When did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago. Setsuko let me in as she was leaving. She said you put your cufflinks on the side so that you wouldn't forget them." Sitting in the middle of the island was a small box that held Hideo's cufflinks for casual occasions. "She also told me to remind you where you left them when you did forget." There are few limits to the knowledge a good spouse had of their partner. Hideo was secure enough to admit that his wife was the better half of their relationship.

"It's nice to see you." Carefully pinching the fabric between two fingers, he deftly slid the tiny metal bolt home. "Are you here to apologise for the mess you left me in after dropping everything to run to America?"

"Surely having the King of Games on payroll makes up for that tiny inconvenience?"It was true that losing the event would have made the repercussions a lot worse but Hideo was still under pressure from what many people saw as his employee/responsibility taking an impromptu holiday without any warning.

"Not even close." Getting two mugs from a cupboard and flicking the kettle on, Hideo measured two spoons of coffee grounds out without asking Yusei if he wanted one. The young scientist was drinking more coffee than Jack these days. "Congratulations though." One hand moved towards the fridge before Yusei cleared his throat.

"Setsuko asked me to make sure that you didn't have too much milk. Apparently, you're on a strict low-fat diet." Metabolism slowing as the years built up, the seasoned politician was starting to sport an extra layer of 'insulation' beneath his jumper. Between cuddly looks and small jokes from his wife, Hideo had arranged a frequently avoided diet to get himself back in shape.

"Is there anything she didn't tell you?" It was endearing how much effort Setsuko put into keeping her husband healthy but it could go overboard on occasion.

"Only that your office has been told not to purchase any sweets." Turning around with an incredulous stare, it was met with a perfectly calm look. "Setsuko told Akiza, the concerned doctor told me." A good gossip chain was hard to build yet a virtual goldmine once it got started.

"Since you're having so much fun at my expense already," Equal measures of water were poured into each cup and one was passed over to a grateful Yusei. Despite his acceptance of the caffeinated concoction, Hideo had the uncanny feeling that this was the most rested he had seen the young man in years. "I'm guessing this is a social call?"

"Mostly. I want to know what it is I can't remember from eight years ago." It was said with an equal level of intensity as asking about the weather outside so Hideo could be forgiven for missing the significance for a moment.

"I'm not sure that I can be much help. We weren't that close back then." Smiling in apology at prior their lack of connection, Hideo gently swirled his coffee until the grounds were entirely gone and he could put the spoon in the sink to be cleaned later.

"It is precisely because we weren't as close friends as the others that I came to see you." Coming to Hideo was not just the smart choice but really the only one. Everyone else who knew the truth had made some sort of agreement to not let Yusei know. As Akiza's father, Hideo would likely be privy to at least some fragments of knowledge to light the way. Yusei was counting on their friendship that had grown since those missing days to convince him to share that information. "My friends seem intent on keeping something a secret from me."

"Maybe it's all for a good reason. Did you think that they might be trying to protect you from something?" It was obvious Hideo was uncomfortable being put on the spot but at least he showed cracks in that resolve.

"Of course. Then I wondered what danger a dying man could be in." Hideo had been one of the few people Yusei had told his condition to. Leaving him the trouble of explaining why Yusei had run away to America was one thing but forcing him to deal with the fallout of an unexpected death would have just been cruel. "Please, Hideo. I need to know." A deep sigh told him that the ploy had worked.

"I do not know all the details nor do I truly wish to." Gently closing the fridge door, Hideo gently added a daring dash of dairy into his coffee as a rare luxury. "Your friend, Bruno, was in some sort of danger." No, that couldn't be right. Bruno had vanished inside the Ark Cradle. Musume had rescued him. "Musume came to you. No idea where she came from or how she knew what she knew but that young maniac had some harebrained scheme to help Bruno." Returning the milk to the fridge, Hideo returned to his seat opposite the troubled young man. "I guess it took a few days to organise because the lot of you kept chasing each other around the city for Duels." Had they? Why were these memories so blurred to Yusei? He knew he had met Musume at the viewpoint over the city and... had they Duelled? Then he could clearly recall was watching her depart along a road in the distance of the Turbo Duel Highway. Everything after that became increasingly hazy.

"Next thing I now, there's the biggest storm anybody has even seen. I'm talking thunderbolts the size of trees, lightning falling almost faster than the rain." That was a complete blank for Yusei. He had read about the storm in the news over the next few days but had absolutely no memory of it actually happening. "You were found right in the middle of the highway with Musume. Officer Trudge took you both to hospital to recover, I'm guessing from being hit by lightning." No, that had been Crow. It had singed his hair and given him toilet trouble for a few days. Had Hideo been lied to then or was he doing the lying now? "Comas for both you and Musume. After a few days, you woke up with a few gaps in your memory. That's it." And Yusei would have believed him. He would have apologised for the intrusion, thanked Hideo for the coffee and then walked away without another question. But that conclusive 'that's it' that had overplayed the act.

"What is it?" Slamming both hands down on the counter, he rose to stare down the old man opposite him. "What aren't you telling me?!" To his eternal credit, Hideo did little more than sip his coffee through weathering the outburst. "Can you imagine what it's like? To realise that there's a part of your own life that you'll never know about? I only have a few months to live and this is the only thing that I want." Setting down the cup with a gentle clink shattered that intense rage Yusei was feeling as Hideo looked at him with eyes more serious than the younger man's. Any anger that he might have felt was boiled away in the intensity of that stare.

"Then I am afraid that I cannot help you." Now that his judgement wasn't clouded, Yusei started to employ the overwhelming power of his mind. There was no mystery in science that could resist the scope of his intellect and Hideo wouldn't require days of research to even get started with. They were, after they had been through together, old friends.

Old friends. So why would the gentle senator refuse to help him? Only three reasons made sense: somebody was forcing Hideo to keep quiet, he was doing this to protect Yusei from something or it was all for something more important than either of them.

No fear nor outward signs of stress. If he was being kept quiet, it wasn't under pressure. Bribery and corruption were far beneath somebody of his integrity of character. Whatever reason he had for keeping quiet was his and his alone. So it was possible that Hideo was lying on behalf of Yusei.

Except that there was nothing to save him from. While there were probably hordes of Duellists already on their way to lay siege to his life in an effort to wrest the King of Games title from him, there was little Hideo could do about him. Yliaster was appeared to be keeping their distance for now – though only because Yusei was unaware of the events currently going on in France. Even though his endless days without sleep were numbered...

"You bastard." It all came clear in that moment when he realised that he had slept soundly at least once since realising his few remaining years. "For her." Yusei was almost a son to the old man who had taught him so much. Who would he betray Yusei for except for his actual daughter? And that realisation had revealed the pattern of loss in his memories. It didn't begin when he met Musume but stopped being reliable shortly before she had arrived. Yusei had always attributed that earlier blank part of his life to the intense grief of losing a friend only to now realise it was quite the reverse. "Not one word, all this time?"

"Only since you told me you were dying." Releasing the cup let Hideo interlink his fingers beneath a perfectly calm face. This fight had always been a possibility he had been prepared to accept. "Part of me always hoped that you would remember on your own. When you showed no outwards signs of doing so, I chose to let Akiza lead her own path."

"Why not tell _me_?" Nobody knew the secret that Yusei had kept for eight years but it was on the verge of revelation. Just not to Hideo, not then. "What did I do to make you so angry?" Yusei had never really had a father so he couldn't compare the disappointment he felt in himself with actual paternal upset.

"Quite the opposite – you were always the one person that could make her happy no matter how bleak the situation was." They had no actual relation but Yusei made Hideo as proud as it was possible for any father to be of his offspring. "Once you told me you had an incurable terminal condition, I couldn't risk her falling into love with you for only to lose you so soon." It was a simple equation and not one only Hideo had made. Fortunately – and unfortunately at the same time – somebody else had created a similar equation with a far different outcome and arranged the circumstances that directly brought about the conversation the pair were having.

"That wasn't your call to make." Although Yusei completely understood why Hideo had made it and begrudgingly agreed.

"Perhaps." Sipping his coffee, it was clear to Hideo that the younger man had already finished his. "But I made my decision. Now you know what I know," Setting down his own cup, Hideo finally managed to step down his overprotective nature that had grown from a guilty conscience after abandoning his daughter once already. Now he was forcing himself to let go again. "It's time that you made one of your own."

* * *

"Okay, I'm a _literal_ genius in just about every field worth mentioning." Sitting on the side of his laboratory, those tough leathery hands of Din's were able to hold a bulging bowl of berries in one palm while grimy fingers picked and swallowed. "But can you explain to me one more time why we're going to squish some berries into our patient's head?" As with every third sentence, it was meant to be an aggravating statement. Especially since Din had put most of the formula together.

"For the _fourth time_ ," What she had realised very early on was the impossible nature of trying to move forward in research without Din being fully onboard with the next stage. Part of her suspected that he forced her to repeatedly explain the current stage so that he could work on the next one. Although she was growing to hate him for it, Akiza had to admit that she probably couldn't have kept up such a rate of overall progress without her lab partner. "Berries are just a dietary supplement. Oxidative stress has been linked to dozens of neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's due to mitochondrial dysfunction. We might be able to slow the progress significantly by reducing the number of free radicals." Which would require some ironically radical treatments. Most doctors would have preferred a slower approach by altering the patient's environment. Akiza was going to be a bit more proactive but stopping short – against Din's strenuous attempts to demonstrate on a disturbingly fresh skull he pulled from a cupboard – of opening up Yusei's brain and poking around inside.

"All I'm saying," Picking up another chisel – Akiza running out of places to lock up the others – Din mimed stabbing it into one temple and levering the top from his head.

"You realise that most scientists prefer to run _tests_ first?" Brains and chemical charts were lined up along the far wall and floating through the air of the empty part of the lab. Since securing their extra hardware to run more tests, there hadn't been a single flicker on the holograms or complaint from neighbours. "Use samples to test theories? Run multiple experiments to verify results?" Each was a very good way to approach a medical case or science experiment.

"Question," Squeezing in one final strawberry, Din wiped his sticky hands less dirty across his stained coat. "What happens when your floaty brains go up in smoke?" Turning around, Akiza was less pleased to see that Din was right than usual. "What's the problem?"

"I'm not sure." Tapping away at the tablet, Akiza was hoping it was just a power drop or temporary system glitch. "I don't know what's going on." Then the answer became clear in the most unforeseeable way.

"I'm shutting down your research." Standing in the door with a heavy heart was the simmering figure of Yusei Fudo. "Effective immediately."

"Listen to me, you insolent little toerag," Such mediocre insults were his way of showing respect for the leader of the group but said leader was in no mood for posturing.

"Din." A marked change had come over Yusei. Scientific curiosity usually floated up from every footstep and a sort of electric thrill radiated off him. Yet with a single stern word, he was able to momentarily overpower the perpetually enraged dwarf. "Get out." Any attempt to refuse was crushed beneath the weight of his stare as the stuttering genius found himself backing away into the corridor to watch from outside. Violating several dozen SRC rules, a few laws and the odd corner of social convention, some unknown persons might have set various trackers on and around the door to track the eccentric attacker. Making themselves easy suspects for conspiracy, every lab on the floor and the ones immediately adjacent were connected to at least one of these devices.

"What's going on? Din and I just started making progress on a cellular" Any attempt to explain her latest theory was dismissed with a wave of one hand as the bodies started gathering at either end of the hallway outside. Din had never been outside his lab so long without making a scene and they needed data.

"It doesn't matter." Probably a therapy based upon the mitigation of cellular regeneration or to prevent the degradation of his brain tissue. Both had been tried and failed already. Scientists were gathering in the corridor outside. Not only had Din left his lab but it had been under orders and everybody wanted to know what was going on.

"Your project is terminated, effective immediately." Nobody had ever heard such a casual dismissal by their leader. It was outstandingly rude by his usual approach. "Feel free to join any other research or start a new project of your own."

"You can't do that." Gripping her upgraded card in one hand, Akiza was equal parts furious, enraged and overwhelmingly authoritative.

"Actually, I _can_ and _have_." Drawing on every dreg of his presence, their battle of wills was so overwhelming that people in the corridor actually fled back to their own areas of study. Only Din, scattering the onlookers away from him with angry snarls, remained in earshot as the intensity continued to grow.

"Actually, you _can't_ and _won't_." Literally billions of people would have paid money to get the sort of view that Din was taking perfect advantage of. Every tiny detail was a diamond of gossip currency. "Ogino put me in charge of your case before she left. It's not your call anymore." Stone would have melted and boiled under the intensity of his glare. It was one of the few times that Yusei was actually angered by the actions of one of his staff as opposed to exasperated or merely disappointed. "Suck it up." Somebody else under the comforting umbrella of SRC leadership had once told Yusei the exact same thing. Seeing the director assigned to the project the next day was enough to ruffle feathers. When he started to patch up all the holes in their equations, a swift apology was issued.

"Then, as your patient, I no longer wish for treatment." Somebody else in the otherwise deserted hallway handed Din an open packet of popcorn which he took without looking. No entertainment was complete without snacks and this was fundamentally entertaining.

"Because your condition qualifies as life-threatening, the SRC has the authority to actively pursue medical options." Even though the patient reserved the right to refuse any treatment, Yusei had made sure that everyone under his protection would have all the available courses to choose from. "Since you also happen to be the first recorded patient to have this condition, the medical division will be filing a request to observe your symptoms as they progress." She was on shaky ground at this point. Few completely new diseases were actually discovered, mutations and offshoots far more common. Institutions like the SRC and CDC would try to catalogue as much data as they could to find some treatment, any treatment, for this new threat to human life whenever they first appeared. All they knew about his condition was the effects and that it appeared not to be contagious. Nobody had a clear idea of what might have caused it. Well, neither of them.

"You cannot be serious." Questioning authority was practically encouraged by leadership at the SRC. It helped encourage different avenues of thought and led to people trying to understand conflicting points of view. On the rare occasion that authority overruled debate, it was because the risks far outweighed the benefits. Right then, there was no question in Yusei's mind that saving himself was not worth putting Akiza in danger again. Either she didn't see things the same way or had weighed the risks differently.

"What? Because I'm not willing to throw away any chance to save your life?" This conversation was going a little differently from what Yusei had expected. Akiza had been expected to argue the point but there was no doubt she was actually winning. Especially when she was using Yusei's own rules against him.

"I am _ordering_ you to stand down." Commanding people was generally far outside his comfort zone but Yusei actually trying to tell Akiza what to do. Different circumstances might have made it funny but the topic at hand was his life so it was only amusing in passing.

"As the medical personnel in charge of your case, I would deem that grounds for mental instability and have your access revoked. That is, if you even had the authority to begin with." Intelligence does not necessarily equate to wisdom. Knowing all the facts in the universe is no good if you cannot apply them properly. Yusei might have been the more intelligent of the pair but Akiza could only cause him further embarrassment with the assorted stories Martha had imparted to her in sworn secrecy. Nobody had been so single-handedly superior in an argument with Yusei since records began. Then Yusei dropped the truth bomb that he had been reserving as a last resort.

"Hideo told me what happened eight years ago." And just like that, the balance of power shifted further than he could have imagined.

"So?" What little chance Yusei might have had of persuading Akiza to consider his point of view vanished as she was freed from the impromptu promise she had made to Musume so long ago and came out swinging. "We went on a couple of dates, you banged your head and forgot before we went out separate ways." Not exactly a lie but without the raw emotional truth as well. "That has nothing to do with this."

"Would you be going this far if it was Jack?" That was a low blow by any standards. Both the twins would have been easily worth the effort and Crow was Akiza's weird alternate-future-daughter-baby-daddy. He had picked the one person that she liked the least and they both knew it.

"No, because _Jack_ wouldn't be so thick-headed as to refuse treatment." Nor would he have been intelligent enough to complete the sort of research that Yusei had already covered. "What about you? Would you stop if it was one of your brothers instead?" Things are said in arguments that people wish they can take back but what she said next needed to be heard. "What if it was me dying and refusing to let you help? What would _you_ do then?" Any argument was a retreating vanguard at that point. One of them had just obliterated the other and everybody knew it.

"Then let me ask." Some people could live without pride and others lived with humility. Yusei had taken the nobler path than Akiza's father. " _Please_ stop." It was a desperate gamble that never paid off outside the unstoppable energy of a Duel.

"Stop what? Trying to save your life?" It sounded insane when she put it like that and she could see his resistance gently folding in on itself. " _If_ there's nothing else," Holding out an arm to indicate the door, she indicated it was time for him to leave. "My colleague and I have work to do." Unable to find a suitable argument, Yusei walked into the corridor as Din was summoned back in by force of will alone.

"Din," Placing a hand on the shoulder required little effort. It was basically the same height as his wrist. "Surely you can talk some sense into her?" Doing favours and keeping people happy helped get things done but Yusei was resorting to outright bribery. "I can reinstate access to the library if that's what you want." Quite how Rubinek and Head managed to get such an astounding collection was a secret known only to the mismatched fat-thin pair but the SRC library was almost a world standard.

"Honestly?" Looking up from under his sloping brow, Din was only marginally exaggerating his words. "She scares me a lot more than you do." Scurrying into the labs, doors closed themselves behind Yusei's ashamed back as Din returned to his now disgustingly warm bowl of berries as Akiza continued to work away on her tablet.

* * *

Exactly how ashamed Yusei could be without dying was a matter of science: slightly below heart failure but just above the constant feeling of betrayal. Staff up and down hallways – that generally flooded out to see their leader whenever he passed – sensed the change and didn't approach. Logic and reason had been his guiding graces for years now and he had still let emotion overcome his better reasoning. Carefully leaving the building without smashing anything, a loud bellow managed to make the brooding scientist jump slightly as he walked the path back to his office in Building Eight. It was then he saw the visitor waiting outside the main doors. Security had finally lost patience with all the reporters roving the grounds and taken to detaining anyone caught without identification. The mayor was given an exemption from this rule though.

"Yusei!" Raising both hands in a congratulatory gesture, Lazar seemed genuinely happy to see his friend.

"Mayor Lazar." A curt greeting, single nod. Yusei was obviously keeping a professional face on things. "How can I be of assistance?" For somebody who had just etched their name into the most important legend in modern history only a few days before, Lazar would have expected Yusei to be a bit happier in his outlook.

"Can we talk in your office? I come bearing gifts!" Every sentence with the short man was usually dramatic so Yusei gave him no conversational starters until securely seated in the comfortable chairs in his solitary office. There was no way to avoid him then.

"Would it be possible to shorten this down at all?" Not exactly the traditional request of a victor but some people preferred to avoid the spotlight and fawning that came with it. "There are some things that require my attention." Namely calling his brothers and chewing them out. Not that it was possible to tell beneath that unmoving business face he was sporting.

"New Domino city sends official regards (and some politician to kiss your rear)" That last comment was muttered under breath, just below the fine line that marked the boundary between the professional and personal opinions. "Also, Industrial Illusions has been working overtime to deliver new cards to you and your friends (their rep will be here in a few days for the royal buttock treatment)." Not a stir from the stony face. "KaibaCorp is going with the best traditions of Seto Kaiba himself and putting in as little effort as possible. Some time capsule was meant to be buried up in the mountains for a century but they're breaking it open a decade early. Lucky them, the actual date is next week so that's something to look forward to." A crack finally appeared in that motionless visage.

"Did you know?" Leaning back in his chair, Yusei was being unusually casual right then. Conversations with the mayor were usually far more formal. "About Akiza and I eight years ago?" It would be nice to have at least one friend he could rely on. Even though they had been reliable in all other areas of his life, Yusei was rapidly losing faith after discovering everyone was keeping one secret from him.

"What thing with you two?" Context caught up to the clown. "Do you mean that awkward dating thing you tried out? My wife said you were perfect but I thought you should have waited a bit longer." An unreactive stare deadened his words. "Okay, I admit it!" Raising both gloves with a helpless smile, Lazar unburdened his conscious. "My wife said you should have waited."

"Why did I not think to just ask you?" Even being a literal clown mayor wasn't enough to stop Lazar from being overlooked.

"Excuse me?" A close work relationship had been no help with trying to slowly piece together those few missing days but knowing Lazar was still on his side was enough for Yusei to give his brothers a slight stay of execution.

"Nothing. I'm sorry if I've been rude but you have my full attention now." Except for those parts of his mind focused on personal matters.

"Lucky you, there's just one more thing to cover." Drawing an embossed slice of card from within his jacket, he handed it across the table. "New Domino is – with the help of a few sponsors – throwing a masked ball for you. A chance to meet rub elbows with the rich and famous, _raise lots of money for charity_ and avoid any invasive conversations at the same time." It was certainly the perfect party for somebody of his legendary status to safely attend. "Now, I must dash. We can speak at the party. All the information is on the card." Standing up, it was instantly obvious that Lazar could be picked out no matter how good his mask. "Have a nice day." Darting off to another press release to bring more money to the new home of the King of Games, Lazar left the young man to his thoughts.

Sitting alone in the emotional wreckage of his life, Yusei looked at the invitation in one hand. What was starting to occur to Yusei was that nobody at the party would treat him normally without a mask. Heh. He would have to thank Lazar for that stroke of genius.

Although – and this was the sort of problem that should have really been noticed much further in advance than it eventually was – it did also create an easily exploitable way to just walk right in.

* * *

Exactly five minutes had passed since Yusei had left the room and the only noise had been berries getting eaten and Akiza working on curing the most reluctant patient ever. "So," Breaking the uncomfortable silence, Din launched right towards the most awkward topic possible. It was good that he had never been one to follow social rules. "You and Yusei?"

"Din." A warning note accompanied a look strong enough to curl his matted beard.

"Hey, I'm not one to judge." Most people would have raised their hands but Din's unique posture would have toppled him in such an event. "One of my girls married a prince, the other one settled down with a farmer. So what if you had a fling with your boss before he was your boss?" That stunted logician had a point. Whatever relationship they had long ago was buried long ago. Their new dynamic as adults might be based on their experiences as teenagers but it was also different.

"Din!" Waddling over to the window, Din leaned out slightly but not far enough for Akiza to push him. Not that she was considering it. Memories of that bar fight provided testimony that he would probably just bounce off the ground and come up swinging.

" **Vella!** " On his walk of shame and simmering anger back to Building Eight, Yusei actually jumped in surprise. Those meaty lungs of Din's could be heard across the compound and even up in the sky by a tiny dot circling on thermal patterns coming from the city. Plummeting from the sky in a hunting dive, the hunting falcon made such astounding time that records would have been set if any of the scientists had been actively taking note.

Falling back as the bird playfully clawed at him, Din tumbled to the floor as it circled around his swearing form. " _Anyway_." Finding his way upright, the bird settled on his shoulder and nibbled affectionately on one ear. "Can we be honest for a minute?" It was a rare thing to hear him talk without anger. Maybe the last time had been his moderately confused cheers during the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament – Din didn't really understand Duel Monsters beyond the technical aspects.

"Of course." The last time that Akiza could personally remember him sounding even close to this lucid was following the legendary bar brawl where he could blow off some of that legendary steam he built up. Curiosity pushed her forward, if nothing else.

"People like me," Not scientists, not constantly angry dwarves, but the one in billions who ended up with the sort of outward appearance as he did. "There's not exactly a lot of places in life for us to go. I can't eat out without small children crying, servers get angry at how I look, other customers ask to eat away from my table. Not exactly traditional dating material." Burbling slightly, the hawk on his shoulder fluttered both wings as it settled. "Vella saw past that. Likes me for me, never feels that she needs to stay for no reason. Really puts effort into her curses." Akiza had been privy to stranger things in life than a man who talked to birds but few people could back up their claims to understand the birds. If anyone was smart enough to understand feathered friends, it would be Din.

"Are you getting to a point or not?" While Din could wax lyrical on the concepts of sub-atomic particles – no, really, he had written a paper entirely in rhyme to settle a bet – he tended to ramble unless kept on track.

"Just ask yourself: only Ogino had access to his case for more than half a decade. Yusei didn't even have the decency to tell me – the smartest guy on staff – who we were working on." Not that it had stopped Din from figuring out their patient. Neural patterns were more identifiable than fingerprints. Dozens of people in the SRC had undertaken some neural mapping for various studies and Din had recognised the brain on day two. Day one had been slightly hungover. "When I say somebody is good, they're really good. There are some _really_ good neuroscientists here that he chose not to involve instead of you. It doesn't take a genius to see Yusei doesn't want to call you off either. So what happened eight years ago?" An external view sometimes lets people see things those inside might miss. It was why the dark figure who had given Din popcorn had seen this day coming long in advance. It was why Din was understanding it now.

Few people rarely found out what might have happened had they made different choices. All Akiza had to do was pick up the phone and call Musume to find out but she never thought to pry that deeply into the life she might have lived. Then part of her brain kicked in. Not the science part. She was far too wound up for that part to work properly. It was intuition tingling up and down her spine. Akiza remembered when Din and she had first found the deadly part of Yusei's condition. Complete shutdown until neural overload in the amygdala, prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. All emotional centres of the brain.

Many people completely misunderstood the idea of memory. They thought it was just a string of events and recollections but it was processed in dozens of different ways and parts of the brain. Hearing music could stir emotions long before somebody actually remembers where they know it from. So even if somebody cannot remember exactly what happened, they might still feel the effects.

Yusei had several completely blank points in his memory eight years ago. No knowledge of what had happened, no recollection at all. Only a heightened emotional state that practically forced him to keep going. Now, after speaking to her father, Yusei was suddenly trying to keep her at arm's length. Logic warred on one side, intuition coming from another. One realisation kept coming up no matter how many times she went back over the information. There was no way to avoid the truth that Akiza had just shown herself. An old German word crept up out of her vocabulary as she blurted out in an unstoppable reaction to the revelation. "On, _Scheiße_."

* * *

 ** _You know the drill by now. If not, why now ask when writing a review ;)_**

 ** _This chapter is dedicated to all those tiny mistakes that helped me to be a better writer._**


	23. Rats and Recollections

Not every decision in Crow's life ended with regret. Becoming a pro-Duellist had left him with no regret. Joining the New Domino Police Department had been tricky after his criminal career but there had been no regret. Risking his life various times – Yliaster, Dark Signers, upsetting Jack just because he could – left Crow with no regret. Even the majority of his morally questionable actions to survive the Satellite had little effect on his sleep. "Sherry?" Taking in a deep breath, Crow picked a chunky object from his shoulder and threw it a good distance away before watching it scurry further into the darkness. "Remind me who thought this was a good plan."

It had been possible to feel their journey under the Seine tributary as the temperature dropped. Then it had been obvious when the group had reached the fresher stone tunnel beneath the Basilica Cathedral of Saint-Denis. Sebastien had insisted that they wait in the tunnels while he sought out an ambulance to transport them to University Eight where Musume had vanished. That had been an hour ago. Part of Crow had realised what an inane plan it had been after barely two minutes in the network of catacombs. Sitting in the near darkness with only the light of a single green glowstick, the scowling face of Sherry and rats occasionally dropping onto his shoulders for company, Crow would have preferred to walk directly up to the temporary Yliaster stronghold and smash his face into the doors until they let him in.

In case his feelings hadn't been made clear already, Crow really hated rats and – due to his recent experience – being locked in the dark. Gettnig glared at from beneath hidden eyelids was also giving him the creeps as Sherry was somehow able to spend her time calmly meditating while staring at him intently.

"You, Sebastien." Cracking open an emerald eye, it was more disconcerting for Crow to be glared at with one open and one closed eye than it was with two closed ones. "Me." That was the final word in the exchange. When somebody didn't deign to even open both eyes to answer a question, they were clearly far too important for the conversation.

"How much longer do you think Sebastien will be?" It was only twenty minutes able to the hospital, a few minutes for Sebastien to work his criminal contacts and five to drive back. Literally, a walk across a park followed by a relaxing drive. A more unflattering view from Crow had a darker take. "Are you sure he isn't going to betray us?" Both eyes opened this time.

"If Sebastien accepts a job, he sees it through to the end." Sherry relaxed back against the wall again. "Afterwards is a different matter."

"What if Yliaster bribes him?" Inhaling in through her nose pulled Sherry upright in exasperation. She had been patient but being stuck in a tunnel with rats and a paranoid ginger would grind down any nerves.

"Crow, I am going to ask you a question and want you to think carefully before you answer." Questions like that were always bad ones. People asking them genuinely had either a solid idea or patient ear, typically both. "What happened in America?" Opening her eyes slightly revealed the depth of her gaze. She knew the sort of struggle he was going through. Chasing after Yliaster had not been easy and Sherry had been tempted to make many choices that she would come to regret.

"I'm fine." But he wasn't. Every twitching rodent that fell onto his shoulders sent a little twitch through his frame. Everything that lurked beyond the tiny light of their single glowstick was far too similar to the bleak space he had seen after sacrificing himself for Musume.

"Very well." Letting the subject go, she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes again. "I will be here when you change your mind." It was apparent that Sherry was being sincere in her respect for his privacy as she sat in silence.

"... It was dark down there. Not like it is here. Much worse." At a much, much later date, he would eventually come to realise just how sneaky a manoeuvrer it had been. For now, he simply started talking to the only person who was just proactive enough to shatter his pretence of coping while not being overbearing.

* * *

One minute, Crow Hogan had been riding on the edge of his seat in yet another Duel for his life. Then his vision clouded over and he had been overcome with the sensation of falling in every direction at once. When he returned to his body, it wasn't quite where he remembered it being. For one thing, it had been day. For another, Kansas had been closer to Dorothy than it was to him. Rocks were strewn in every direction and lay as far as the eye could see. Not that it could see very well. Dim light was about as much as could be spared and had an unhealthy tinge to it. Judging from the local décor and Yusei's scant description of his own experience, Crow could point himself to the seriously bad end of the interdimensional neighbourhood. The Netherworld.

Unlike Yusei, Akiza, Luna or even Jack, he didn't have any special powers that could make an inch of difference in his situation. When Ark Cradle had descended from the skies, he had been able to keep using his Duel Runner. But as a quick test proved, that had only extended as far as his Signer powers had lasted. Instead of the engine catching and giving him some modicum of hope, it lay silent and still.

Looking around in the hazy light, two options presented themselves: wait or start moving. If there was an invisible hole back to the world – and carefully aimed pebbles just skipped across the same ground he was on – it wasn't going to open from this side. Staying put would just leave him with the tiny circle of sight he had now. Better to keep moving. Without any recourse, Crow set both feet firmly against the ground and began pushing his Duel Runner in the same direction that it had landed in.

One step morphed into the next as he tried to keep count. The electronics on his Runner were probably fried (he was careful not to think the word 'dead') and there was no music to play and pass the time. Outside the shower, his voice was far from good enough to keep even himself entertained so singing was wildly out of the question. Not that there wasn't a more disturbing sensation already available. Looking back over the tracks proved that the tires kept in a straight line across the miles he was walking. Tracks that sometimes crossed back and forth over themselves. Common sense clearly didn't tend to work in the Underworld.

Nor did time. Crow had an almost antique mechanical watch strapped to one wrist that had been a birthday gift from Martha that he kept in working order. While not about to earn any prizes, it kept the correct time to within a few seconds and served purpose well enough. Except since landing in the deity-forsaken, soul-crushing, poorly lit Netherworld. Not a second had passed according to his watch but there was definite wear on his mental state after the first few hours. Namely a sense of utter exhaustion on everything from an emotional level upwards.

 _Just because I can't see Jack doesn't mean that he_ hasn't _lost._ After an undetermined time alone, Crow had started thinking about what might have happened after his being sent to the dark place. Particularly the most unpleasant possibility – that Jack had also lost and would spend the rest of eternity haunting him in this bleak wasteland. _Maybe he just arrived somewhere else._ That was a more pleasing idea. Losing the Duel didn't bother Crow more than it usually would (aside from the permanent exile outside his home dimension) but knowing that Jack had succeeded where he hadn't was playing on Crow's nerves. _Not that I would_ want _him to be stuck down here._ Neither of them being trapped would better but having his mortal frenemy stuck as well would just increase the total misery.

Solitude does funny things to the mind. Flickers of colour kept appearing in the edge of his vision as Crow continued to walk through the murky haze. Flashes of grey, swirls of dark purple and the odd glimpse of something white. Each time he turned to see what they were, the colours vanished again. A thick fog was constantly swirling around and it was easy for Crow to pretend that his mind was just playing tricks. What he could clearly hear the sound of running water gradually getting closer as he walked.

Up until the moment that he came into sight of that winding river that dully gleamed in the dim light, Crow had thought that nothing more could surprise him. Getting someone out of the Netherworld was incredibly difficult at best. Either his friends would come through or they wouldn't and neither avenue would really surprise him. But even being stuck at the far end of an empty void couldn't have prepared him for coming face-to-face with an actual ghost. Squatting on the bank of the river was the faded shade of an old friend Crow had long since bidden farewell.

"Robert? Robert Pearson?" Original owner of the Blackbird, Black-Winged Dragon and strong moral compass that had been all inherited by Crow, the grizzled mechanic would have been fast friends with the rest of Crow's family if he had lived long enough to know them. Pearson had been betrayed by Bolton, his business partner who had rivalling ideas for their designs.

" _I had hoped that you might not have been as stupid as me._ " Bolton had Duelled Pearson using a Shadow Card to inflict actual damage. By the time Crow arrived, Pearson had been too wounded to survive and died as his warehouse burned down around him. Apparently, that hadn't been the end of his torment. " _Welcome to the end. At least you will have somebody to talk to for the first few decades._ "

"My friends don't seem to be here either, so that's good." At that point, Crow had yet to uncover the reality of just how much faster time moved between the realms. "We were in working in pairs for a Turbo Duel. Looks like they pulled through." Shuffling down to sit beside his old friend, each doubtless took comfort in no longer being alone.

" _A Tag-Team-Turbo-Duel? That sounds ridiculous._ " Such a thing would have been unthinkable once upon a time. It at least sounded preposterous enough that Pearson seemed to be warming up to him.

"Most of the opponents were ridiculous." Crow still had yet to check with the others but he was certain that one of them had lost bladder control along the way.

" _Except the one that sent you here._ " It was an unfair point. Nobody had been expecting the Yliaster Duellist – including the research them she had infiltrated that had thought she was over a hundred miles away. " _What were you even doing getting involved in a Shadow Duel?_ " There was nothing else to do so Crow decided to catch up his old friend on everything that had happened. How Jack had betrayed them all to leave the Satellite. Why Yusei had chased him to the city. Dark Signers. Getting an _honest job_. Something about Paradox and history falling apart. Yliaster in general. Going their own ways. Teaming up again to take on the world for the King of Games title. Then what had clearly been a rigged Duel to overcome Crow's limitless natural talent.

" _Limitless natural talent, my ghostly backside._ " Being stuck with little else to do had almost forced Pearson to endure Crow's only slightly embellished story and the older figure was unimpressed with the additions. " _It took everything I had to teach you how to fix Runners. If Bolton hadn't killed me first, my head would have exploded._ "

"Please, you learnt far more from me than I did from you." Only if lessons in how not to do something counted.

" _Heh._ " It was not exactly a laugh – their surroundings made that impossible – but a single chuckle was better than nothing. " _In any case, I'm glad things went better for you than they for me._ "

"If I get out of here, getting you out is the first thing I'll look into." For the first time since he had arrived in the Netherworld, a tiny ray of light appeared in Crow's surroundings.

" _That may not be as easy as you believe._ " A stronger voice than Pearson's broke through the gloom as an old and familiar figure appeared behind the pair.

" _Look who decided to show up._ " Pearson sounded more annoyed than surprised as Crow struggled to his feet.

" _Forgive him._ " Ignoring his ghostly counterpart, this fresh face spoke directly to the newcomer. " _This place is relentless on the human mind. Robert frequently imagines himself to be funny._ " Trying to think of something smart to say, Crow gave up and treated the new ghost just as with that of his old friend.

"Yeah, I can see that." Don't think about it, don't think about it, _don't think about it!_ "Yusei really does look just like you." Damn it!

" _Why are you here, Crow Hogan?_ " Even for a dead man, the late scientist had limitless concern for others. " _This is no place for the living._ "

"Yliaster is back. They're using Shadow cards to take us on. One of them sent me here." There were subtle differences to the face before him and that of Crow's brother. One eye covered up by drooping hair, lacking that slight smile at the corner of his mouth. "Can you get me out like you did Yusei?" A moment of unease passed across the shining face before it cleared away.

" _Your stay here will not be for long. Events are already in motion for your return._ " Quite how the shining spectre knew what was happening outside the confines of the dead zone was not clear but the news was eternally welcome.

"What about Pearson?" The other ghost had made little in the way of talking during the conversation between the other two.

" _Robert cannot leave as easily as you._ " Sorrow was expressed in the same way by both Fudo men, a deep sadness in their eyes. " _But he has turned this curse into a gift by helping sooth the restless spirits doomed to haunt these wastes alongside him._ " Those chilly ghouls that had plagued the last person to be trapped hadn't appeared to Crow. Maybe because they didn't hold him responsible for their plight, possibly because of Pearson's relentless influence.

" _A fat lot of good that it's done me._ " Even from beyond the grave, Pearson had the uncanny ability to gruffly help anyone in need without making it seem like an imposition. " _Most of them can't hold a conversation that's not a memory for very long and none of them can keep shape for more than a few minutes. I haven't seen a pretty lady in_ _decades_ _._ " Being dead was clearly no excuse to stop flirting. " _And all this guy ever talks about is science or his kid. Almost wish he wouldn't speak at all._ " Speaking of which, Fudo senior looked like he had a pressing question.

" _Can you tell me something?_ " It was impossible to really tell but Crow thought the ghost looked troubled. " _My son, is he... happy?_ " There was an anxious pause between the words. Almost as if scared of the answer. But what could a ghost have to be afraid of?

"... He's unwell. Some sort of brain disease." Terms like 'unique neurological condition' meant little to Crow. If something could be summarised in five words instead of seven, he would cut it down to the basics. "But he's got the best doctor on the planet looking after him. I don't think he realises it just yet but yeah, I think he's actually happy right now." Every time he had seen Yusei over the past few years – in person or in the media – there had always been a slight tension in his shoulders. Pressure from his condition, stress from his job. It had been noticeably absent for the last few weeks. Just having Akiza close by seemed to take the edge of worry from his life when she kept calling him on it.

" _Then, please, do not tell him what happened here. It would only cause him more harm._ " Father and son alike seemed prepared to fall on their swords to protect the people close to them. An endearing trait but stupid for the living. " _Ah, it appears your time here is at an end._ " Not exactly a glow came from the Blackbird Runner but more like the clinging fog was being pushed away. _"Take care. There is something dangerous coming for you all. I cannot see exactly what it is but it is close already. Be careful of those about you._ " There had been just enough time to properly settle back onto the Duel Runner before it was summoned back into the world.

Light broke through his recollections like the sunlight that returned him to his family. "My friends." Appearing like a morally ambiguous angel, Sebastien was outlined by light as the top of the damp cellar stairs. "Who's ready to die?" Considering the recent story, Sherry felt that maybe a different choice of words might have gone better.

* * *

Right up until he saw the ambulance sitting in front of him, Crow had actually doubted Sebastien's ability to get it done. Having Sherry's vote of confidence had carried him a long way in Crow's estimations but even that could only go so far against the weight of reality. Ambulances were constantly tracked by both the owning hospital and government. Within seconds of an ambulance being stolen, police would be closing in from all directions. Any unregistered use would trigger the system and sirens would sound.

"I had a friend of mine register it as out for a mechanical check." Palpable levels of jealousy were rolling off of Crow and Sebastien nonchalantly explaining the trick was liable to make his head explode. "It took a few drinks and some... convincing." Meaning that he had been off seducing hospital workers at the expense of leaving his customers locked in a dark tunnel. "What matters is that we have an ambulance for the next hour." Looping an arm around them both, the familiar embrace was quickly shrugged off as he led the pair to the ambulance. "We should be able to get to University Eight in just a few minutes so you had best get into disguise now." Inside had been cleared of all medical equipment and medication. Probably to help sell it to the hospital that it really was out for an inspection, possibly because whoever had handed it over to Sebastien wasn't completely trusting of the conman. Good to know that Crow wasn't the only person in the whole of Paris that wasn't swayed by those charms. Less pleasing to fully realise how their simple plans of acting as corpses had been adjusted to reality.

"One gurney?" Ambulances were used to quickly scoop up patients in desperate need to transportation and also begin treatment on the way. They were not used for mass transportation, something Sherry was unhappy to realise.

"But two bags!" Unravelling two lengths of black plastic over the moveable bed did nothing to abate her prickling fury. "And look!" Raising both protective barriers would stop either of them from falling off while also shaving off another few inches of room. It was going to be an uncomfortably tight squeeze.

"Crow?" Nothing could unnerve him like Sherry sounding pleased when speaking his name when she had made it a point to avoid him for several years. "You will owe me for the rest of your worthless life." Just a fragment of a moment went past when he no longer had Yliaster as his top concern. It was just about the same time that his future tormentor was negotiating her way into the sack and pressing it as far to the edge of the gurney as was possible with a glare of pure fire. Even the sombre nature of being inside a literal body bag was unable to hinder the indomitable personality that was Sherry LeBlanc. "This was a stupid idea of yours."

"What? But I," Before he could summon an articulate response, she had already zipped herself inside the world's most reliable one-time sleeping bag. "Sebastien, just kill me already." Hopping up onto the side, both legs were wiggled into the sack as he lay with his arms tightly folded. There was no way to fully close the join from inside so they would have to rely upon Sebastien to close them from the outside.

"Monsieur." Snapping on a pair of gloves gave a certain medical air to the conman as he nodded sombrely. "Nothing would make me happier." Closing up the zipper, he solemnly enclosed Crow up into the black sack. "Ashes to ashes, du"

"One more syllable and I will haunt you forever." The last thing Crow saw before the darkness closed over him again was an amused smile. Heavy rings sounded out as a pair of shuffling footsteps carried the disguised driver to his cabin and an engine was soon started as they pulled out of the narrow alley near the church.

It quickly became stuffy in that bag. Air too thick to breathe, not even the barest sliver of light creeping in around the zip. Trying to calm his mind, Crow told himself he was somewhere bright and sunny. Clear air, bright skies, warm light from above. Crow was abundantly aware that he was lying to himself, especially as a sharp corner slid his bag across the gurney and against his companion's. "Sorry." Trying to wriggle away, some pressure was applied to the bag around his hand.

"For what?" Their voices were muffled through the thick plastic but the garbled words reminded him that he was not alone in the dark. Sherry was there to help him, Sebastien was helping sneak them inside and Musume would soon be joining their reckless little group of renegades. This black space he was trapped in would only last a few minutes. Just keep breathing and everything would be alright. So that was what Crow did. Just breath in and out as their driver covered the short journey to the university. In, out, squeeze that grip slightly, feel it tighten slightly in response. Listen as Sebastien blagged his way past the guard at the external doors and quietly listed off the rooms as they went past. Take a chill inhalation as they entered a freezer in a kitchen – the following guard accepting the excuse that he was just covering for the regular deliverer. Even when he heard Sebastien say "Looks like this one rolled over onto their bag" and straightening fabric made it clear the pressure on his hand had just been from the bag, Crow continued to breathe normally. Only when the door shut did he drag in a gasp of cold air and tear himself free from the bag.

Industry-sized refrigeration units like the one they were in were obliged to have exit handles on the inside in the event that people became locked inside. "How long should we wait?" Peeling back the cover over his watch, the trembling man measured out the seconds as time ticked by and frostbite set in. If their porter had taken ten minutes to give a brief layout of the first floors then it would only take a couple to leave. Crow gave him one to get out of earshot. Any longer and bits would start dropping off.

"That should be long enough." Heaving on the handle, he gallantly let Sherry escape into the warmer air of the kitchen before prying one of his boots from the floor. Ice had been quick to settle in and apply itself to a sole. "Dddddidn't Sebbbastien say there was aaaa security office around here?" Stuttering as the warmth made his muscles tremble in joy, he hoped that he had the layout right. Being enclosed in a body bag had hampered his normally perfect sense of direction marginally.

"Down the corridor about fifty metres." Unlike her shuddering companion, Sherry actually had the focus to keep track of everything Sebastien had carefully listed out for them. She would have to remember to thank him for that if they all made it out in one piece. "What are you thinking? Shouldn't we be trying to avoid the guards?" A few stuttered syllables underlined just how much he despised the cold whilst giving her enough information as to his intentions. "Cameras. Not a bad plan." In a building this size, the camera feeds would typically be split between floors but (they hoped) still be accessible from the booth on each floor.

"Glad you think so." Blowing into his hands, he resisted the temptation to simply turn on the gas cookers for a few minutes. Being able to feel fingers was overrated anyway. How Sherry had endured the industrial freezer for even that minute was beyond his understanding but – to avoid the inevitable scathing remark – he wasn't going to ask.

"Are you quite done?" Freezing in the icy blast of her tone, Crow stopped his shivering through sheer force of shame as he silently followed Sherry in the direction of their first objective.

* * *

Ensuring Sebastien didn't wander off, a few extra guards had made sure to properly escort him from the premises. Their path down the corridor was clear but the pair solemnly crept as if ears were on every wall between them and the door at the end of the junction ahead. Cautiously peering around opposite corners to make sure that nobody else was coming, the pair hurried into the labelled room.

Rows of monitors would have filled this space when it originally operated. Some of the frames were still on the walls where heavy television sets had been installed. It was always easier to take the cheapest option instead of the better one. University Eight – like many underfunded educational institutions around the world – cut a lot of corners to make ends meet and the current camera feeds were split among four dated computer screens. Since the four screens could only be cut into quarters before the pictures became too small to see and there were upwards of forty cameras in the building, the images switched around every few seconds. As luck would have it, the person who was meant to be guarding the equipment inside had apparently left to have a break and the room was empty for their taking.

"This is giving me a headache." Focussing on several points is easy enough but checking for details was a skill Crow hadn't yet mastered.

"Are you sure that's not just your natural state?" Sherry was only being snippy because his skill clearly far exceeded hers. At least, that was what Crow was telling himself as they each tried to scrub the pictures for anything that might be useful before it changed.

Multiple images went flickering past every few seconds. Hallways, corridors, one broom closet (oddly enough), a room that had an aquarium if the way the light was flickering in the picture was any indication. A truly astonishing amount of guards. With the screens changing every time they looked, it was difficult to really estimate how many other people were in the building with them. One of them estimated somewhere in the mid-hundreds, Sherry guessed closer to eighty.

"What was that?" Stabbing at one of the monitors meant little with their combined lack of luck. " _Wait_ for it." Even under the risky circumstances they were in, she could sense a trademark useless comment on the way. "There." It was difficult to make out on the small square but there was no mistaking the pixelated figure lashed to a hospital bed. Not noticeably struggling was only further indication that something was amiss. Impossible though it should have been, Yliaster had caught Musume.

"Where is that?" It took another rotation of the screen for the information to appear in one corner of the image. "Second floor. Somewhere in the East corner." Either that or '2E' was a room number. Possibly both. "That's on the other side of the building. Come on."

"Wait." Tapping away at a keyboard, another jolt happened on the screen. "I put a loop on the feeds. It should help us get around without being noticed." Getting this far without her help would have taken Crow more luck than he had and several weeks as well.

"Smart. Can you teach me that one?" There wasn't enough distaste in the world to factor into her look. Although Crow had evaded Sector Security for a few months, Sherry had tracked Yliaster for years. It was like a fingerpainter asking for tips from a master artist. "Maybe later." A scowl answered his attempt to bargain. "Or I can just ask Yusei." If Crow hadn't already seen her angry, he might have assumed she was getting upset at the suggestions. Unexpectedly, it was Yliaster who rescued him from the awkward situation as the guard returned from his break by opening the door behind them.

Spotting each other at roughly the same moment, all three froze in that micro-second that preceded a decision. Reacting fastest, Crow took two sprinting steps and launched himself into the air with a slight uttering of "Hup" before both feet smashed into the gradually alarmed face. If the blow didn't knock his target out, the sickening crunch as head collided with floor finished the job. "Come on, help me get him away." Dragging the still body into the security room, Crow ripped out a power cord for one of the monitors and bound both legs together as Sherry repeated the exercise on the arms. Electrical cables made fantastic restraints and the guard was trussed up like a chicken in seconds.

What they hadn't counted on was the way that all the guards in the building had been working in pairs. Remembering this fact as a burly arm wrapped around his neck and drew him upright did nothing to stop him from dangling an inch off the ground. Growing a few inches over the years had put him just barely into a normal height but that didn't stop the muscle-bound freaks like the one holding him from being bigger. "Who are you," A thin, cold line pressed against his throat and Crow tried very hard not to swallow. "And what are you doing here?"

"Here for the P.E. Booster sessions." Risking a quip, the knife edge slightly closer into Crow's throat as the guard made it clear that he was in no laughing mood.

"Let him go." Reaching into a back pocket, Sherry pulled out a knife that hadn't been there when she arrived. No threatening words or angry tones. Such tactics would have avoided any number of fights between the two brothers.

"Where did you get a knife?" Asking that question may have saved Crow's life. It meant the guard knew he was unaware that Sherry had brought a weapon. Which could also mean that she lacked training in how to use it properly.

"From our friend in the corner." Watching how those emerald eyes were tracking each movement, a single thought came to mind. Uttering a silent prayer to anyone who might be listening, it was possible to signal acceptance with a single wink. Yet another item was joined to the list of regrets as the wrong eye was closed and the open one let him see just how close that knife came to stabbing him in the chest instead of the arm around it. Dropping him with a scream, the guard automatically lowered the knife from Crow's throat.

"How many," Smashing the screaming face into the doorframe until it stopped making noise didn't alter the flow of Crow's words. "Times have you done that?" Silence indicated that it was the first time Sherry had thrown a knife directly at a hostage to hit the kidnapper. The recently freed victim pondered the wisdom of his choice as a thin stream of blood pooled at his neck where the knife had nicked through the outer layers of skin with ease.

"Room 2E?" Taking care to strap the wound she had inflicted closed, Sherry tied up the first guard alongside the other one. Smashing the handle from the door as he locked them both inside, Crow wondered just how wise his choice of companion had really been. Pressing a hand to his throat to stem the bleeding, he carefully followed her lead for the rescue of their mutual friend.

* * *

Creeping up through the hallways was slow business. Each step was carefully done to avoid making any unnecessary noise, ears remained pricked for the sound of any approaching guards. Stairs were their only recourse, lifts would be easily noticed. In case guards had been left on the stairs near their destination, they took the west stairs to the second floor before creeping through the empty corridors. All that time, not one other person was seen or heard. It was like there were only guards on the perimeter and none inside. A massive tactical blunder unless they were simply too late to arrive.

"2A." Speaking in a hushed whisper, Sherry pointed out the sign above a set of doors with a slender digit. Each letter appeared to indicate a wing rather than a single room. Opening up their area of search slightly, it at least confirmed that they only had a limited section to investigate on the far side of the seemingly abandoned building. In fact, it was even easier than they might have allowed themselves to readily hope for.

Only one room in the correct hallway had opened blinds. Slowly covering the angles just to make sure they weren't discovered, it was a grim sight slowly coming into view. Bags of medication hung from dozens of poles, needles in every limb, thick straps around every possible angle. Quietly letting themselves into the room, the pair left the door open just enough to hear if anyone was coming.

Being tied down would normally have been a minor inconvenience to Musume. An added benefit of being a walking human container for the two warring beings was the sorts of strength that most people would work their entire lives for. Judging from the thick straps holding down her limbs and the many bags of various substances being pumped into her, Yliaster had accounted for that and taken precautions.

"None of these are pain-killers." Looking through the assembled bags of medicine, it was the clear lack of pain relief was the only thing missing from the collection. Several sedatives but nothing to dull any pain.

"That doesn't make sense." Such thick straps failed to open easily but he had almost released one of her feet. "What's the use of risking her waking up?"

"Because they don't care if she's hurting." As it turned out, Sherry was almost right. Yliaster were pumping her with so many other substances that adding more to the mix would have likely killed Musume before they got what they needed from her. Every combination of chemicals was precisely calibrated to keep her alive as long as possible. Adding literally anything else into the equation would throw everything into chaos.

"But what is this thing?" A chunky box was set off to one side, linked up to the patient by a sturdy plastic tube set into one arm. Blood was either being drawn up into the box or being pumped from it into Musume. Both were worrying procedures.

"Dialysis?" Kidneys purge the blood of toxins in a healthy body but failing organs could be aided by regular dialysis. A notable difference between regular dialysis and whatever was happening to the prone form was how her extracted blood was being purged and filtered into a nearly full bag while the replacement blood was coming from a different bag altogether. Something was deeply wrong as the noise of heavy footsteps sounded in the corridor outside.

By the time both of the men arrived in the room, it was seemingly empty. Shuffling slightly under the mattress, Sherry slipped her thumb over the end of a scalpel's handle. If either body made a move to look under the bed, a quick slice to the Achilles tendon would suffice to immobilise them. Then they would only have to worry about the other one. No problem by herself. Maybe a few minutes work if Crow tried to help.

"So why do we keep topping her up if we're just going to drain her again?" Carefully slipping the full bag from the hook, another soon replaced it to begin pumping fresh blood back in. Whatever they were trying to do, this seemed deliberately counter-productive.

"Boss wants us to keep diluting her blood with this synthetic stuff for as long as we can." From his perspective in the cramped cupboard, Crow watched as the pouch was secured in the bottom of a sturdy case and looked inside. "I heard the guys in the lab have been extracting these tiny robots from it or something. Things just keep exploding on them but they go right on trying." Was this what the new Yliaster was after? Musume had only mentioned her the nanites in her system had been keeping her from making a decision between the two spirits as part of her plan to draw them both to a final end. Could there be another use she hadn't mentioned?

"What's that about?" Only non-communicative noises came as a response. "Didn't you hear the rumour how they want to use the blood to create superhuman soldiers?"

"... You've been watching vampire films again." Just below the average threshold of human hearing, the sturdy palm of Crow's hand was steadily smashing into his skull. How was it possible that such a powerful organisation could be composed of such idiots? "Or was it zombies this time?"

"You know what? Screw you." Task completed, the pair soon left the room amidst the squabbles of working partners as Crow rolled himself out of the cupboard. He hadn't realised just how uncomfortable Yusei would have been when his brothers had locked him into the bedside cabinet back in America. If the situation repeated itself... well, he'd still do it again. It had been funny the first time.

"Come on, let's get you out of these." Sherry taking the far side of the bed, he set about removing as many of the needles and buckles as he could. It would take a few moments but Musume started coming around almost as soon as the needles were removed. She was one of the toughest people either of her rescuers had ever met.

"C...Crow?" Gripping the front of his jacket in a lax grip as muscles failed to respond properly, she was clearly struggling against the effects of whatever medications were still in her system. "They took them." What he was thinking she meant could not possibly be the actual meaning. It was too big a leap, too large an impossibility. "Yliaster took... them... _both_." Ice filled his veins more fully than blood for one instant.

"Sherry?" Maybe it was just some sort of delusion. Many things could affect the mind and she had clearly gone through a lot in the few days since they had parted. "Can you check her for a mark, like a tattoo? Right about here." Tapping his sternum, he shuffled over to the door so that Sherry could keep Musume's modesty intact. Carefully pulling the fabric of the hospital gown to one side, Sherry uncovered a few scratches and some fresh bruises but not the curled symbol that he had desperately been hoping she would find.

"Nothing." That loop on the monitor could be noticed any moment now but they had to be sure of the situation first.

"What about on her back? Anything?" More bruises than the front but not even the emblem that told more the more sinister of her unwanted captives was still inside. Against all possible hope, Musume was as powerless as the rest of them. Yliaster had somehow taken not only the Crimson Dragon but Red Nova as well. Their forces were all around the building, their invitation to Crow almost certainly a trap and now the sinister group had taken away the only possible hope of facing them in an outright battle.

"Time to go." Grabbing one of her arms around his neck, Crow dragged Musume from the bed and was relieved when Sherry took the other arm for herself. Hurrying back over to the far side of the buildnig, they headed for an external fire escape to avoid being seen at the building's exits.

"Doesn't this feel a bit too easy?" Elbowing open the door with one arm, Sherry gave a cautious peek outside. Nobody was on the external stairs since they could only be accessed from inside. "Musume gets caught, we find her. She's guarded, we break her out."

"Finding her probably wasn't easy with the amount I'm paying Sebastien." Finding real francs was an expensive business and her criminal contact had a pleasing refund policy on the rare occasion he failed. Dumping all that back into finding Musume had set Sherry back more than most people would be comfortable with but she knew every penny would have been put to good use to verify the information this time. Sebastien wouldn't want to owe anybody twice. "But something about this does seem... strangely uncomplicated." Giving him credit for a genuine observation was beyond her current levels of charity but she was willing to admit to least seeing Crow's point. Even if their guards had left to steal away the pair of powerful spirits, more than the meagre handful should have remained to guard Musume through whatever remaining experiments she was undergoing.

"I hope that we can make it back to the catacombs before they catch us." At least Yliaster hadn't been crawling all over the dark corridors beneath the city. Despite the cramped quarters and constant feeling the ceiling would cave in on them, it was at least quiet except for the scurrying inhabitants.

"That makes two of us – I also cannot wait until you are back in those rat-infested tunnels." Each footstep would a slight ringing in their wake if they hurried so the group were slowly creeping down the metal staircase. Their journey so far had been mostly uneventful but all three of them knew that didn't eliminate the risk of being discovered. Well, two of the three were aware of the risk as the third drooled slightly.

"Las time..." Each eye was focussing in a different way and making it incredibly difficult to properly look at either figure. Even though she had the substantial willpower to keep herself awake, her speech was still impaired from the drugs in her system. "Last time Crow... thaw a rat."

"We don't need to talk about that right now." Nobody had such a quick answer unless they were prepared. Finding Musume chained up had not been planned which only meant something more embarrassing was being covered up.

"What happened?" Hefting her share of the burden slightly higher, Sherry had to hurry around the outside curve of the stairs to keep pace. If she was going to run and carry someone at the same time, she was going to get paid for her work.

"We _really_ don't need to talk about it." Covering the outside distance of the stairwell was matched by having to effectively hop on one leg around the inside and try not to slip.

"H' screamed and... shhhat hisself." In order to keep Crow from overhearing, Musume lent over to whisper in an ear.

"Wrong side." Hindsight made it instantly obvious that telling her had been the wrong decision.

"Oops," Leaning over, she repeated the words to Sherry.

"I was _three_." Slowing to a halt on the middle landing between two floors, Crow stretched his hands as wide as he was able. "And it was this big." Considering the hands were about four feet away, doubt showed in the eyes of each beautiful woman. "This big?" Lowering the size slightly produced no results. "Let's just leave before they catch us." Trying to move down the stairs again was waylaid as Musume plucked at the back of his shirt. "What? You want to hear about the dog incident as well?" That was definitely information filed away for later but more pressing concerns took precedence.

".. 'm spirits." She was gently growing more lucid as time passed but it was definitely slow. "Haveta ... get 'em _back!_ " It wasn't her most articulate argument but probably the most resolute.

"Not enough time. The Crimson Dragon will have to look after itself for a while." Even with every inch of his burning anger pushing them forward, the resisting positions of his companions were enough to dramatically curtail any progress. And they were literally inches from the ground floor and escaping to freedom.

"Z-one spoke of the Crimson Dragon once." And they had been doing so well in pretending Sherry hadn't once betrayed them for the other side. "It was the only thing Yliaster was scared of. If they have it now, they will be unstoppable." A fair argument when dozens of people weren't hunting them down.

"Look, this isn't a democracy. We came to save Musume, mission accomplished. No time for another suicide run." That may have been an overbearing comment under most other circumstances but many people with a kill order were likely on the way already. Nobody sane wanted to be in the middle of that unless the fate of the world might be in the balance. It very well might and two-thirds of the group were willing to take that risk. Actually, one of them was fairly drugged up so maybe round it to half.

"We go back." Pulling some way up the stairs, Musume just dangled uselessly between Sherry and Crow as they argued the point of sacrificing their lives for something far bigger than either of themselves. It was unusual of Crow to take the more restrained approach but his last encounter with Yliaster had left an impact.

"Where to? Where would Yliaster be hiding them?"

"The aquarium." Brains and beauty, Sherry had one of the finest minds in her country. "Why would they need an aquarium in the physics building?" On the greyscale monitor, the light coming from inside the room had looked like it was passing through or reflecting off a body of water. What if it had actually been illuminating that way from the beginning?

"Where is it?" Racking his brains, Crow tried to remember any sort of detail from the room he had seen for barely an instant. Pinboards on the walls. Potted plants in a corner. A floor map with a dark outline! Each of the floors was colour-coded with a colour of the rainbow (doubtless some dumb attempt to invigorate weary students). It had to be either red or indigo to show up black on the screen.

"Either the top floor or the second." Three incredulous stares met one another. "What?"

"We were on the second floor." After a moment of cultural warring inside his head, the point made itself clear. Japan considered the ground-level floor the 'first floor' but the French maintained the 'first floor' sat above the first flight of stairs. Without an innate understanding of French culture, Crow would have wasted precious time searching an empty floor.

"Then we know they're on the top floor." Grinding his teeth, Crow heaved Musume upright and tried to think of a plan. "Probably with all the guards we were expecting." His pool of ideas shrunk slightly. "And guns." It dwindled to a small puddle. "A lot of guns." A dribble of inspiration labelled 'last stand' trickled through his mind. "It's not as if we can even get the drop on them." And then an idea happened. Not the sort of idea any member of his family would understand the subtleties of. They suffered from an unfortunate condition known as 'common sense'.

* * *

"So somebody snuck into the building, grabbed our primary test subject and escaped without being seen?" Hearing those words brought a flicker of a smile to the intruder currently creeping in closer by the second. "Can anybody tell me how?"

"We think that they got in by hiding themselves in a corpse delivery about an hour ago." It sounded like Sebastien would be getting away without anybody being aware of how deeply he was really involved. A regular thumping noise could be heard as fate sent vibrations through the ceiling. "They also seem to have incapacitated a few guards. We can't raise them." Most people would have said 'knocked out' but Yliaster cared little for the average grunt and wouldn't care if they were dead.

"Did nobody think to check who was inside the bags before taking delivery?" Shouting in an increasingly angry voice to be heard, the apparent head scientist was in risk of screaming the building down. "So now we have no template, no source of materials and no way to get them back? And what is that noise?!" There was never going to be a better time to enter and Crow seized it.

"Guessing you just need to... _vent_." Which would have been a good line to drop from the ceiling from had Sherry not crushed him under the drooping body of Musume as punishment. Getting in through the building would have been an impossible task with so many guards roaming the halls. Getting to the roof and opening up one of the exhaust vents that filtered out air from all over the building had been simple. Much like the SRC, many institutions placed their most potentially explosive experiments near specifically weakened outer rooms. It had been a simple matter to crawl to the noisiest vent and drop in. Sometimes, Crow amazed even himself.

"Ignore the idiot and leave. We won't be asking again." People were normally more scared by her threats but some of the huddled bodies in the room actually cackled at the words. "Is something funny?" Few laughs this time as the fury in her eyes quelled all humour.

"Why pretend? You're one of the 'good guys'. We know you aren't going to hurt us." Propping Musume against a cupboard, Crow walked over to the voluntary leader with a smile about his face.

"You're a scientist." Throwing a friendly arm around those narrow shoulders, it was clear this was the sort of scientist who spent all their time working and not enough working out. "So calculate the odds of a former Signer hurting you." Drawing him in close, Crow made sure to drop the friendly manner. "Especially when it happens to be the one your side recently sent to the Underworld and seriously pissed off." Tightening his grip elicited a slight squeak from the man in his grasp. "Now then, what do you think would happen if you happened to hurt one of his friends?"

"Errrr..." Facing death can do funny things to a man. Actually being worse than dead – no matter for how short a time – could do even stranger things. "We'll just get out of your way." Crow squeezed the trembling form as other members of the group started to flee from the lab.

"One more thing," Grabbing the back of the coat as it tried to flee, Crow treated them to a smile tinged with unpleasant thoughts. "Leave the coat." Draping the stolen fabric over one shoulder, he impatiently waved the rest of the crew through the doors before slamming them shut and engaging both locks as the sound of running feet came from the other side and the grunts started to converge on the lab. Then slamming a thick chunk of wood from under a desk through the handles just as they arrived outside. As an afterthought, he dragged a table over and pressed it against the door. Then toppled one of the heavy filing cabinets to slide under the table for extra weight. Only once he was relatively sure that it would hold for more than a few seconds did he finally turn around.

Avoiding looking directly at the problem hadn't made it simply vanish. They were both still there, circling one another. Each vast container stretched out and around the others, forcing them into a perpetual cycle of harming and being harmed. Neither was strong enough to split their attention from protecting themselves against the other and break free of containment at the same time. Too weak to attack harder, not strong enough to break free.

Standing in front of the two creatures that had tortured her for years and driven her family to their deaths, Musume had a revelation. It was absurdly simple. Smash both containers, let the two opposites meet directly and the nightmare would finally be over. Paris might end up a smoking ruin but the world would be safe from the sheer horror of their war for the rest of time. Humanity would be safe from one more supernatural threat and their end could be postponed a while longer.

"Musume?" Then she returned to a reality where the one parent she had known and loved was standing right across the room right beside the closest thing to an actual friend that she had ever known. Losing them in addition to a few hundred thousand people tipped the risk into the realms of 'unacceptable'. Outside the door, every member of Yliaster was starting to converge on the reinforced and barricaded doors.

"You know," Tearing the sleeves off the lab coat, she wound them around each fist. Adrenaline was giving her a temporary boost of clarity just enough to focus. "I always wanted to see if this worked." There was a gap of about four feet just between each shimmering jar. Just enough to squeeze inside and punch the outside layers. " _Merde._ " Something was definitely clicking in her right wrist and at least one of the fingers in her left hand was broken. "Tell me what you're thinking and find out if your heads are less sturdy than whatever these are made of." Even with sturdily locked doors hammering under the weight of Yliaster personnel and blood starting to drip to the ground, both her accomplices were at least smirking.

Taking the proffered length of pipe that Sherry had ripped from under a counter, Musume's second attempt managed to put tiny cracks in the winding exterior pipes. A few more blows opened narrow slivers in the lengths and wisps of probably not smoke began curling up. "Wait." Stopping just before she could actually make contact, Musume turned to look at Crow with incredulous eyes. Literal minutes before the bodies outside the room were pounding the bodies inside the room and he wanted to have a heartfelt discussion. "Are you _sure_ about this? Can't one of us do it instead?" Whilst being included purely by being in the room – Crow forgetting for a moment the finer points of supernatural genetics – Sherry felt strangely honoured to be part of the somewhat limited group of available stand-ins.

"Second question, probably not without exploding." Minds pictured that demise. Minds weren't exactly appealed to living the reality. "First question, nope!" Then she slapped a hand on each pipe before thinking too far through the decision could deter her.

Razors of ice sliced up her left arm as radiant warmth seeped through her right. After so long in silent peace, her soul was torn back into two screaming halves as the beings moved back in and made it their home. It was different than the last time, harsher. Originally, she had already trapped the Crimson Dragon before it could fully understand the plan she had concocted. When Red Nova had stepped inside her, it had been waiting and already at power. This time, they were vying for a dominant position from the very start. Nova forced her to endure hellfire in an effort to sway a pained decision as the Crimson Dragon strained her jaw shut and her tongue to lie still. Musume couldn't convey the sheer agony shed was underwent. In physical terms, every nerve ending would have been forced to erupt in the most brutal pain to even come close. She could have boiled alive on the surface of the sun and been diced into literal dice as a precursor act by comparison. Undergoing literally every mundane humanly devised torture at once would be put to shame when compared to that agony.

Shades both bright and dark radiated from her body and blazed across the room, shredding the surfaces and bubbling the contents of a metal refrigerator Crow had dragged Sherry behind as soon as Musume had started glowing. After too long for comfort – especially since time in that room seem to wobble under the undulating waves of ordered chaos – a balance was eventually reached and she could collapse back to what remained of the floor. Last time she had done this, the fight had been confined to her soul and she never let slip any outward sign of the turmoil inside. This latest skirmish had let them leave painful marks across her skin before they could be confined. Even now, fragments of their powers were sparking throughout her body in sickening jolts energy. But she wasn't conscious enough of her surroundings to really feel the burn. Absent inside that smoking skull, her mind had relocated itself somewhere else in an effort to remain intact through the procedure.

* * *

 _She remembered this day so clearly. It was long after she had made up her mind to try and leave. Just a few hours after she had stolen the last few items she had decided to take with her. Blister had let her use this tiny garage – just like Yusei had so many years before – to hide the beginnings of her radical plan. Yet Crow was waiting for her in that smelly little cupboard of space already. Of course, he would have discovered the ruse. Nobody knew her as he did._

" _I would try to st_ _ **puffughugh**_ _" Even squeezing out those few words had him reaching for the oxygen tank constantly kept at one side. Doctors had given up on trying to keep him alive and were settling on making him comfortable. Even that was proving to be beyond their abilities. "Guessing... you can see why... I'm not trying to stop you." Wheezing through the pure oxygen, it was obvious his end was overdue far too early. That damn patron of theirs, constantly stealing away her family. No more._

" _Scared of showing me up?" Laughter had been one of the first things that they had to dispose of to avoid aggravating his failing lungs but the pair allowed themselves brief moments of humour from time to time. "Just sit there and wait. I'll be back before you can blink." Cataracts were also making his vision fail but Crow claimed to still see blurry outlines. One way or another, he still had an uncanny accuracy for mechanical items._

" _Shouldn't you check... before leaving to see... if you've forgotten anything?" Dragging a pair of wrinkled fingers over his jacket, he was just about able to pull two cards from his breast pocket._

" _How did you get those?" She had taken great pains to avoid being caught but the dying thief had still managed to pull one up on his young pupil._

" _Never underestimate... a good misdirection." So when she had stopped by the hospital to check up on his condition that morning, he must have swiped them from one of her pockets. Clever boy. "A dangerous plan, running off to... change the past."_

" _Because I'm the only one who can actually do anything about it." Moving to take the cards back, she watched as he pulled them just out of reach. "Fine, keep them. I don't even need them. They're just something I thought could come in handy."_

" _Ah. That's a... good reason." Negotiating the thin strap of plastic over his head was as difficult as lifting an engine had once been. "I thought it might... be something to remember... us by." Ignoring the rambling words of a dying man, she was checking over the contents of her bag to make sure he hadn't stolen anything else. "Because you will be... the only one left once... you've gone back." Gently lowering the flap into place, she secured the straps and perched herself on the crate beside her mentor. "I'm not as smart... as to all this stuff." No, but he almost was. Like how he had taught her mathematics in her formative years. Here's the equation but it's missing something. Only this time, he genuinely struggled with the missing piece. "But one idea suggests... everything goes away... as soon as you change... anything in the past."_

" _Yeah." Picking up her helmet – different from the original model only by a distinctive tint – she gazed at the darkness it reflected. "This entire world changes just a little bit and everything changes with it."_

" _So what if... you can't get back?" She hadn't dared to answer in case Crow spotted the lie. He saw it anyway. "Ah. You're not planning... on coming back." Sorrow resonated behind that plastic mask like another echo._

 _"One-way trip. If everything works out, I won't even be born." An obvious choice. Her life had been comfortable but constantly marred by an ongoing procession of losses that started on the day of her birth. Not an uneven trade to end a war that had cost countless human lives through the centuries. "But I'll take them both down with me."_

 _"Maybe there is... a special place for... people who un-lived." A callous term but accurate. Their lives – or these versions of them – would simply be undone as if they never happened to begin with. "And I will see you... on the other side." Neither of them needed to point out how long a shot that was. Maybe there was another existence after death and maybe there was even one for people who 'un-lived' and maybe pissing off a god and a demon wouldn't stop her from reaching that place when she died. Maybe. "I got something... for you." No detail of being forced into an old man had been left unfollowed and there was a tartan bag tied to his oxygen stand. Waving off any attempt at help, he risked his life to lift her gift from his bag._

" _An old Sec-Sec drone?" Hardly the most invigorating present but his mind was not what it had once been. Flicking a switch, Crow turned on the piece of junk that had been old when he was young._

" _I had it... programmed with... my entire Duelling history." Hovering at about shoulder height and covered in scratches, it reminded her a little of the man presenting it. "Not bad for... an old fossil."_

" _Yeah." Finding a proper opponent had been the last item on her list. To take on the best versions of Crow in his prime? That was as good as it was likely to get. "None too shabby."_

" _Can you do me... one last favour?" Chuckling into coughing and back to painful breathing, he tried for one last dash of humour. "Would you ask for... something so outrageous... that I would never... let you have?" Thinking for a moment, she quickly came up with a wicked little idea._

" _Is it okay if I set you up with Sherry?" An alarmed look came into his dim eyes. Crow had severed all contact with the Frenchwoman at the first wrinkle. 'Better she remember the handsome young man I really am' is what he would always say. Taking an extra drag on the purified oxygen, he built up enough energy for a full sentence._

" _Over my dead body." Spluttering from the exhaustive effort, the fit helped cover her adjustment to the gallows humour. Few people actually had the opportunity to knowingly use the term appropriately and he was taking advantage of it. "Which should be... any time now." A good stroke of fate would have him die on those words but fate had never really been on their side. "It would be nice... to know that... she actually had the opportunity to... reject some version... of me." It was an unspoken conversation that they both knew he had been wildly impressed by her sheer strength of will. Failing ill had just given him an excuse to let his own fear and doubt stop Crow from asking her on a proper date before his time ran out._

" _Lucky you, but she always sounded a bit crazy." Gently teasing his past crush was too easy at times. Especially since he had both learned and taught her French out of his admiration. "Because no sane woman would ever go out with you." A quiet smile indicated it was a fair jab. Probably the sort of thing that Jack would have said. "Don't worry, I'll give you both a nudge in the right direction. See if I can give Akiza a run for her money." She had never really felt the urge to call Akiza 'mother' or 'mommy' or 'mom' or anything like that. It was always just her name. Nothing else because there had never been time for anything else. She knew that Crow frowned on it but he respected her stance. Just as he ignored it and never referred to Akiza by any other title._

 _"I loved your mother. And I think... she loved me too... in her own way." Gripping her hand as tight as he only caused the atrophying muscles in his arm to make them both shake slightly. "Don't you ever forget that I am... proud of you. Even if... you happen to have... my stubborn streak." A tired smile cracked open the corner of his mouth. "Try and live... a life that includes... yourself." Turning her palm over, he pressed the pair of doubly-stolen cards into it with a terrifyingly weak grip. "Don't focus on... these tiny things." One finger carefully prodded her in the chest. "We're always... in here." Cracks appeared at the corner of his mouth as he smiled at an old joke. "Who would have... thought it, eh? Crow... Hogan and Akiza... Izinski sharing... a kid." It had seemed almost funny her entire life but she knew Crow was just as amazed at being her parent as anything. "What a wonderful woman she turned out to be." Such a big collection of words without a spare breath exhausted him and Crow gently folded back against the wall as his grip dropped away from the two cards he had given to her: Black-Winged Dragon and the Black Rose Dragon.  
_

" _Way that I remember it, you were basically the only option at the time." Catching his hand, she gently returned it to his tiny lap. Everything about him seemed smaller than it had been before falling ill. "Take it easy. We'll be together again before you know it." No reply came. Patting the appendage, she dragged her eyes upwards to his restful face. That damning mask proved her permanent fear had finally come to pass. It should have fogged up when his tired body exhaled but the cone over his face remained painfully clear. Final seconds spent, it was clear that Crow Hogan had finally gasped his last._

" _Just you watch." Putting on that tinted helmet did little to stop the tears budding in her eyes. "Your daughter is going to change the world." Strapping on her boots, she tightened her bag to stop it from falling off. There was no telling what would happen to the objects that she dropped in transit. "Come on." Wobbling at her side, the old drone seemed eager to get moving. "I think I'll call you Bluebird." It was stupid of her to give it a name but she needed very much to not feel as alone as she did at that moment._

 _Keeping herself balanced at the opening of the tiny garage, she tormented herself with one last look at the man who had raised her. "See you on the other side." Closing the door wouldn't be fair nor would it even matter. When tomorrow rolled around, Crow would either be alive and well or she had failed and somebody would find the body. Turning off, she raced through the city with Bluebird struggling to keep up._

 _Their Duel was fast, electric and the most beautiful experience that Crow could have left to her. Circumstances ripened, she managed to unfurl her own twist of the Accel Synchro and when the smoke cleared, she was almost right where she wanted to be. A mountain pass, people far below streaming up to meet her. Ark Cradle hung in the shattered skies, more imposing than the few archival photos that she had seen. It was later than she would have liked but still enough time to turn everything around. All she had to do was apply herself to events and shape them to her will._

* * *

As the brutal process was gruellingly finalised, Musume had the unnerving sensation of squeezing herself back into her own limbs. "Right." A slight squeak came from Crow while even Sherry shuddered. Somebody once said Musume had the voice of an angel. Mix in the bellowing screams of a devil and the growl of a raging dragon and the result was nothing short of terrifying. Feeling the odd sensation of being crushed in stone, she managed to pivot around on one heel and stare at the barricaded doors. In the past few seconds, it had gone from impenetrable to tenuously constructed with the small army bashing it down. A heavily drugged mind was swiftly purged under the insane mystical energy pounding through her body and she was able to realise the extreme hurt she personally wanted to inflict on her captors.

It was the look Crow had that quelled the burning rage inside her with concern. Her life didn't matter much but he had come to save her nonetheless. As smart as his criminal instincts were, the rest of his intellect was floating through a gutter when he cooked up this plan and a flicker of fear was rustling through his eyes at the army banging down the door. But it wasn't the monsters _outside_ that were worrying him. "Musume, you have wings?" Sherry was at least able to form a coherent sentence even if it came out as a question upon reality. People with wings were generally lumped into one of two categories and neither of them human.

"Do I?" Something curled around her head. It was a translucent red, flexing slightly as it moved and explained the lack of balance that she had been attributing to sudden sobriety. " _Merde_." Swearing in French was in danger of becoming a permanent habit. Especially when something else began tapping at the back of her leg.

"Amazing but can you fly?" Adjusting to the momentous news faster than he would have thought, Crow moved straight back to practicality. Ignoring the miracle before him, he was measuring the pounding on the door. At least five people were at the front of the crowd but several more were lending their weight. They would be through in a few minutes if not sooner. A window was in the next room and attackers on the other side of the only door. One group could (maybe) fly. It was a simple equation.

"No better time to find out." Were it not for the open flaps on the back of her hospital gown, Musume would have been in for an embarrassing situation. Those wings may have been insubstantial but she was fairly sure that wouldn't be accurate forever. Even now, she was starting to feel flutters of air movement through the new appendages.

"Great, new plan." Grabbing Sherry by the shoulders, Crow held her tight in an unexpected embrace. "Take care of her for me." It was the shock at Crow's move as he whispered into her ear that betrayed Sherry. One of the many needles from the room jabbed into the top of her buttock and pumped her with just enough muscle relaxant to make the leg simply collapse away from underneath her.

"You utter..." There were more words that followed but her tongue refused to make more than a few slurred grunts as Crow caught the sagging body.

"Same instruction." Hefting the body over to Musume, it was clear there was going to be no discussion about his staying. Too many childhood memories of being told what to do triggered at once to disobey his words. "Head to La Réserve Paris. It's off to the south. Keep the sun on your left." Dawn had been growing increasingly closer and part of the sky was light enough to provide a marker.

"What about you?" Repeated thudding from the far side of the doors had stopped. Brute force clearly wasn't working so an alternative route had been taken up. Cracks started spreading across the paint as a safety axe – irony was working overtime on that one – had been liberated from the end of the hall and was making quick work of the door.

"Don't worry, I've got a plan." Anyone who knew Crow would typically become _more_ worried when hearing that he had a plan but something about the serious look his face put that concern to rest. It was just as well that she couldn't see what passed for a plan in his mind.

When the doors burst in, there was just Crow squatting in the middle of the ruined floor with either the most duplicitous weapon ever or the start of a simple strategy. "Evening." It was the line that every juvenile man-child dreamed of saying. If he made it out of Paris alive to share the story with his brothers, it might even cause enough jealousy for a heart attack after the stress of beating him for the sheer stupidity of going to Yliaster in the first place. Raising the broken chair leg, he let the torn remains of a lab coat ruffle in the air as a white flag of surrender. "Take me to your leader." Glances were shared. Weapons were lowered. Whoever was behind this half of Yliaster had clearly given instructions to not kill him. Good to know.

"Where are the other two?" Collecting their forces from across the surrounding area had left no possible holes for the others to escape through. It was like a magic trick.

"It's just me here. Nobody else left." Over his shoulder, it might have just been possible to imagine a pair of invisible wings unfurl and soar through the air of a rising dawn. It had been a long stay in the shadows but those days were done. "Come on." Rising to his feet, the young man dusted himself down and straightened his jacket. It would be lonely without his companion so he just put on a smile and a brave face and kept right on fighting. "Time to start moving."

* * *

 _ **For Graham, who helped me when I really needed it and taught me to be free in all sorts of wonderful ways.**_

 _ **I will always miss you. Sleep well.**_


	24. Dark Deals

Flight is the dream of many creatures. Humanity has spent decades attempting to emulate flight as best they could. Crow had even managed to incorporate it into Tinkering with the Blackbird Duel Runner for several months had resulted with a system capable of achieving controlled bursts of flight for as long as eighty-five seconds. Watching the graceless, stumbling, erratic, path Musume was clawing through the skies would have brought him to literal tears. Short of dropping her precious cargo onto the dirty streets far below, there was little she could have done worse – including colliding with a rooftop and taking a stumbling leap over the railing that bordered an edge as she attempted to continue in roughly the same direction as before.

No, as Musume was tearing his perfect dream apart beneath every mis-flap, Crow was being firmly escorted through the empty building. Other than the mild humiliation of being physically lifted with both arms pinned to his side and the thick bag placed over his head, it was not that far removed from life with his brothers. Yusei would not have put the bag over his face and Jack would have given him a few extra knocks along the way. Otherwise, completely the same.

Even through the careful constraints being put on him, Crow was able to make out at least some details of his surroundings. Each hushed footstep told him his overprotective porters were moving in the middle of a large group who – from the sweaty smell of anger and adrenaline – were only not imparting blows against him because they had been told not to. Then the lengthy series of sharp jostles threatening to bite off his tongue told him that somebody up the chain of command had anticipated he would try to take advantage of the confined space of an elevator to make an escape attempt. After ten straight minutes of trying to stop his teeth from chipping themselves to shards, Crow felt himself carried in a more horizontal fashion once again.

"Tell me if there are more stairs." Turning his blind eyes to either side, courage and fear gave him equal lack of reasons to restrain his flippant tone. "Give me an opportunity to empty my stomach in advance."

"Quiet!" A single hiss came from his right. Fear? Unless Crow was suddenly full of Musume-grade fury, they were scared of somebody other than him. Whoever was running this faction of Yliaster had them fairly whipped into line. "Lift your legs." Crow expected a blow to force him to bend at the knees as he stood resolute. "Please?"

"Why?" Testing every boundary he could push might reveal something about the bizarre situation. Any information – no matter how small – could be useful.

"So that we don't bash your knees when we load you into the truck." Complying with captors can lead to dangerous psychological problems further down the line. Weighing the risk of developing a rapport with a powerful criminal organisation against smashing his shins into unyielding metal, Crow curled both knees up against his chest. Taking what little effort that his legs had contributed didn't even bend the unyielding arms holding him in place.

On a 'kidnapee' level, it hurt to know any attempt at escape would have probably failed dramatically. On a more personal level, it was nice to know that they thought of him enough of a threat to put him in the hands of their biggest muscles.

"It's good to know that you care." Care over, the unresisting body was forced – albeit gently – into a chill metal seat. Then what felt suspiciously like giant elastic bands tied his arms to those of the chair. "Careful, you missed a spot." An extra tug on the bonds emphasised that such jokes weren't amusing under the circumstances.

A blinking computer screen was fasted to the wall in front of him. Input would normally take place through the keyboard on the desk yet the blinking light of a camera said that typing would not be necessary. An instant chat window had been put full-screen, blinking cursor awaiting his attention. Looking over one shoulder, Crow watched the guards close the thick steel door behind them and leave him alone in the back of the truck. After a moment, the engine

 _Crow Hogan._ Green letters spilled across the centre of the screen. Menacing, deadly.

"Is this a movie? Are there snacks? I'd love some snacks." The cursor continued to blink silently. After a minute, the door squealed open to admit a guard with a bag of candy slapped atop a cardboard plate. Slamming down the confectionery, he left without saying a word of looking at the screen where another message was already waiting.

 _I had forgotten about your sense of humour._ Beneath his feet, a slight rumble started up. The truck was moving. Decent suspension was stopping him from guessing any sort of details but there was definitely movement.

"Really? But it's my best quality." Trying his bonds, Crow found himself loose enough to wriggle free. It was unlikely they had been lax by accident, just tight enough for the guards to leave unharmed.

 _That point is debatable._ After a moment, the screen refreshed. _A point that has yet to be made clear is exactly why you are here._

Picking a toffee, Crow examined the sweet carefully. "Paris in the spring?" Tearing off the wrapper, he took a quick bite. It didn't taste of poison. No reason why it should. Any orders to kill him would have been carried out back at University Eight.

 _It's August._ Crow pondered the truth for a minute as he chewed. _There is no need to stall. Yliaster is not pursuing Sherry LeBlanc at this moment._ A wry smile crept over his lips as Crow read the words. Not many people could tell the difference between his peculiar brand of humour and a bid for time. Whoever was at the other end of the line had studied him well.

"Why did you ask me to come? How did you lure Musume here?" So long went past that Crow expected the guards to drag him away again. Eventually, words started to spool across the screen.

 _She was an unexpected addition to events._ Maybe not as brilliant as it would have been a few days ago but it was still welcome news. _As host to both the Crimson Dragon and Red Nova, she is a danger we could not allow to continue. Killing her would have more dangerous than letting her live so we extracted the spirits instead._ An offhand way to mention this person clearly had the means and capability to manipulate two of the most powerful creatures Crow's family had ever heard of. _If you had known sooner, we might have come to an understanding._

"I doubt it." Quietly glaring at the screen, he wondered who lay on the other end of the connection. Clearly somebody that wanted to be on his good side. "It sounds like we're both avoiding the question."

 _Maybe so. I summoned you because I had hoped we might work together._ Why him? If somebody was going to be approached for partnership, why choose the low-ranking pro-Duellist instead of the reigning world champion or even the highly connected scientist/new King of Games? _Why did you come?_ Shifting in his chair, Crow wondered if the leader of this Yliaster faction would be as amendable as his counterpart had been to Yusei.

"Robert Pearson is stuck in the Underworld. I want him out." Dropping the name was a calculated risk.

 _That is not possible._ The reply came too fast for it to be the truth. Whatever Crow had asked would have been met with the same response. It was a power play.

"You have the ability to separate Musume from Crimson Dragon and Red Nova but can't get even one ghost out of the Underworld?"

 _It is not possible._ It had to be a lie. Crow had come too far for it not to be.

"Fine. Point me in the direction of another faction. I'm sure one of _them_ wants the Signer's on their side." Evil laughter cannot really echo through an encrypted message channel like it should but the slow type was more menacing for it.

 _Ha ha ha._ Lowering his sweet back into place, Crow could feel his stomach tightening into knots. _Maybe there were other factions that would have helped you. They follow me now._ Several thoughts went through his head with at least three of them ending in a new face and change of name. _Only one other remains and they will be under my command shortly._ Nanashi. What remained of the Yliaster that Aporia had controlled. Their last hope of stopping whoever was talking with him in that vast truck.

"Then you can kiss this relationship goodbye. Sherry will come back to get me, she's too angry not to." Staying captive with Yliaster for a few months was a preferable alternative to facing down an angry Frenchwoman. Mainly on the grounds that Yliaster could only attack him from the shadows whereas Sherry could just as easily punch him in the light of day.

 _What you're asking for isn't possible. Not at this time._ Among his many talents for upsetting people, Crow had learned how to provoke them into agreeing with his way of thinking. It didn't always work with the more stubborn people out there but often enough to get by. Jack was particularly impervious to this trick. _We will investigate the matter further._

"Thank you." They sat in silence for another minute. "Wait, was that it? Couldn't we just have done that over the phone?"

 _It would be unfortunate if other parties were to become involved._ The threat was clear. People Yliaster didn't want investigating them tended not to live very long. Crow knew of exactly one person who had managed to survive them without help from outside sources.

"So then," Picking another sweet from the stack, he continued to munch as the cursor blinked. "What do _you_ want from _me_?" Nobody in his life had ever wanted to give him something and expect nothing in return. Being kidnapped did not indicate that was about to change.

 _We'll search for a way to restore Pearson while you ensure the world remains unaware of Crimson Dragon and Red Nova. Do whatever you must to keep Musume contained._ That sounded fair enough. Nobody wanted other people trying to edge in on such deadly powers. _You will also make Sherry LeBlanc cease her hunt._ Crow mulled over the deal. It was a _good_ deal for him. Providing that his head wasn't ripped off for agreeing to it.

"That's all you want?" None of the others would have agreed to it. Yusei had carried the burden without getting anything in return. But Crow was asking for payment. Before America, that might have meant something. Now he had a slightly harsher outlook on life.

 _For now._ If that was the game Yliaster wanted to play, Crow was ready with a stacked deck. Few people could rig an outcome as easily as he and there was always a way to break the alliance later on.

"How do I contact you?" The cursor blinked at the same measured pace even as satisfaction radiated out from the monitor.

 _We will be in touch._ Anyone working at a phone company could look up his mobile number. An organisation with Yliaster's vast reach probably already had it in their files. _You had best hurry home._

"And here was me thinking we were just getting to be friends." Even though he would never feel completely comfortable working with them, Crow would admit that the meeting itself had been going rather easily.

 _Your brother's achievements are about to get him into trouble. You will doubtless wish to help._ A slam came from behind as the muscle reappeared. _We will make the necessary arrangements._ As Crow was unbound from the chair, he realised that he had no way of getting Musume past customs. Technically not yet born, she had no passport. His new partnership was already paying off.

"If we do this," Letting his hands get bound up again, he pushed for one final addition to the agreement. "Sherry LeBlanc gets a clean slate. Everything she's done gets forgiven, even if she comes after you again."

 _Very well._ Then the world went black as the sack went over his head.

* * *

When his vision cleared, Crow was blinking in the sunlight on the other side of the road from the La Réserve Paris. As he unwound the short length of rope from about his wrists, he received some alarmed stares from motionless pedestrians.

"Crazy party." Ignoring the onlookers, he crossed the road without waiting for the lights to change and practically sprinted up to the front desk. Nothing more than a professional flicker of curiosity crossed the receptionist's face as he approached. "Has Sherry LeBlanc returned yet?" With the sun barely risen, his dishevelled appearance and an urgent question about his travelling partner, it was anyone's guess what conclusions were being drawn.

"Miss LeBlanc called down a while ago to ask that she not be disturbed." One thought went through Crow's head – people asking not to be disturbed generally had a good reason to not be disturbed. "If I may," Appearing in one manicured hand by magic, a deep green turtleneck had been summoned by mysterious powers. "You have a... distinctive cut just below your chin. It would not do to alarm the other guests."

As he hurriedly donned the jumper in the lift to his room, Crow had to admire the professionalisms of the staff. He had turned up at dawn with a fresh wound on his neck and their only response had been to offer him a cover and foot the bill. If he could somehow get Jack to being even halfway as effective, they would never squabble again.

"Sherry?" Knocking on the door as he fumbled for his keycard, Crow could hear the sounds of a violent argument going on inside the room. Lamps breaking, furniture shifting, screaming voices, the works. "I'm coming in." No sooner had he managed to enter than he was met by the most incredible sight.

Tumbling around as if drunk, stumbling in circles and shouting in terror, Musume was risking the safety of everything in the room as the still present wings and tail flailed wildly. Even as she turned to look at his entry, one wing clipped him on the arm and sent Crow spiralling to the floor. As she hunched over him, he saw that her face was glowing in jagged patterns.

"Crow," Grabbing him by the front of his jacket tight enough to risk choking her father out, Musume them close enough together for the lights in her face to reflect off his. "They wont go back _in_." A slim tail could be coiled around one leg and hidden beneath a long skirt. Wings were a lot more difficult to hide.

"Fogash!" Patting her grip garnered him breathing room. Well, 'no longer actively choking' room. "Kidnapping aside" A few precious brain cells went from healthy grey to morbid grey as her grip momentarily tightened again. " _My_ kidnapping, my one!" Each slip that would have formerly earned him a sarcastic punch now could have easily ended with broken bones. Whatever changes she was going through, monstrous strength was among them.

"Could you try letting go of him?" Sore over the muscle relaxant injection that had betrayed her back at the university, Sherry was disguising the fading effects by sipping from a glass of white wine as she relaxed on a couch by a wall. "Unless you care to pay the bill for getting his brains out of the carpet?" Even the pounding blood is in head couldn't stop Crow from hearing just how unconcerned she was at his plight.

"Think about it." Breathing almost entire mouthfuls of air, Crow's panicked brain thought very fast indeed. "Back in the lab, you had no problem dealing with them. You just need to calm down." A frightened look in her shining eyes proved that calming down was impossible right then. "Let me make a call." Scuttling backwards, Crow scurried to his feet as he reached into a pocket. Unbelievably, Yliaster had left him with both his phone and wallet intact. Not even a petty guard stealing the money inside. That was nice of them.

Dialling a number, he was pleasantly surprised when it connected on the second ring. "Hey, Jack," Cracking his neck bones back into place, Crow tried to keep his tone lighter than the grave matter it was. "Just a quick question. When you get angry, how do you keep yourself from reacting?"

"If you are setting up one of your stupid jokes," Porcelain shattered at the far end of the call. "I will put aside a few hours to pound your face into the dirt before going back to my therapy." If simply hearing the question had caused him to waste a precious cup of coffee, Crow had no doubt that Jack would follow through on his threat.

"I could really do with the answer, old pal." A lot of couples and close friends develop code words. Women enjoying a night on the town might say 'That reminds me of my uncle' when they need some backup or two constantly bickering brothers could use 'old pal' for times when they need to really focus on the current problem. "It's important." To date, neither brother had used their phrase unless it involved family, coffee or was a vital situation. This fit two of the three for Crow and the remaining one for Jack.

"...Block out everything around you. Think only on your breathing." Really getting the methods to work involved years of constant use. In a pinch, they might be able to grant a few minutes relief. "Focus on a particularly happy memory. Feel what you felt then."

"Thanks." Though they were pushed for time and Musume was almost weeping on the floor, Crow might never get such an opportunity again. "Can I ask what yours is?" Stubble brushed against the phone as Jack rinsed his hands under a tap.

"Remember that time you tampered with the air gap on my wheel?" Only one in a long line of pranks that had been happening over the course of a few weeks, Crow had finally stepped to a more intense level. What should have normally caused the tire to sag over the course of the day had almost resulted in catastrophic damage after Jack took it out for a drive.

"Yeah. So you... _That's your happy memory?_ " As the repair work had mounted, Jack had hatched a devious plan. Next time that Crow had tried to take his own Duel Runner out for a ride, he found both hands glued to the handles and the engine disabled. It had taken five hours for Yusei to get back from a job before help came. Jack had spent the first two hours laughing. Crow had spent the last two trying to keep his bladder from exploding.

"Musume." Crouching opposite her, Musume could see that Crow was careful to keep far away enough that he could lunge to safety if the wings started misbehaving. "Focus for a minute. Ignore Sherry, she's probably just staring angrily at me." Glaring was an understatement. All the errant muscle control she had lost as a result of Crow's betrayal had relocated to carefully refining the intensity of her glare down to almost dangerously fine. Atoms could have been cut apart in that gaze. "Tell me. Our happiest memory. What is it?"

"What?" Wings, tail screaming, Crow being an idiot. Nothing was right in the world.

"Just tell me." Edging in a bit closer gained a slight amount of trust while lessening the chances that he could get away in time if she lashed out. "Best memory, you and me."

"Ours? You mean _you_ you or _my_ you?" What had always been tempting ideas in the back of her head were now very audible screams and bellows that overlay the rest of the world. It was growing impossible to discern what was real from what everyone else could hear.

"Either. Both. Whichever makes you smile more." They only had spent a few short weeks together over the years yet she was almost as close to him as the twins. He hoped there was at least one great memory she had of them.

"Back at the tournament." One thing inside her was squeezing Musume's head beneath a crushing grip. "You asked me to come up on stage with you." It was the greatest mundane achievement of her life. Signers and Dark Duels didn't matter, it was the biggest moment that she could brag to the world without sounding crazy. "Even though it was dangerous, you still wanted me up there with you." Tortuously slowly, that illusionary grip on her skull began to slip away as her balance shifted.

"What about in my other life?" Both observers had noticed the change immediately. "Your best memory with him?"

"Five." Start young, get the muscle memories embedded in deep. "I asked you to teach me how to fight." Most parents would have played with their children until they lost focus. Crow had taken the opportunity to tell her that there were bad people in the world. "Still got the scar from where I fell down trying to do a flying kick. Probably." Sandpaper being drawn through her veins could have compared to the sensation sliding beneath her skin. Then she tumbled around the floor as pain shot through her spine.

"Probably?" Covering her up with a hotel robe before the hospital gown could fully fall apart, Crow managed to preserve her modesty following the moment of vulnerability.

"Used to be on my arse from where I landed bad." Head bowed, she could still hear the screaming bellows inside her. Back to normal. Or as normal they had been before Yliaster had caught her. "Not sure what's happened back there with the tail."

"I give it two minutes before Crow asks if you want him to check." Covering concern with snip, Sherry was leaning forward on the furniture as she made sure her friend was okay again. "All men are alike."

"Except she's my daughter." With the supernatural event over, there was plenty of room for quiet outrage to fill the space. "Sort of. It's a long story."

"Strange. Because Musume bears a stunning resemblance to somebody else we both know." Sensing the inevitable argument coming, Musume straightened up with one hand clutching the robe closed.

"I'll go and take a nap." Trying her best to avoid actually looking at the simmering spectre of rage or her own cowardly Crow, she was more eager to avoid the upcoming argument than she had been to escape Yliaster. At least they had been drugging her up to the eyeballs. Eyeballs that were still radically altered from before. "What?" Trying to send frantic eye signals that he didn't want to be left alone ended after the first darting glance failed to return from an interesting pillow on the couch.

"Nothing. We'll get you some glasses." Each iris shone in a different shade than before. It was impossible to tell that they had ever been another colour. Having mismatched eyes – known as heterochromia – wasn't unheard of. While her right eye shone in a blazing yellow, the other glimmered in glowering gold. That wasn't the most startling change.

"Why? What is it?" One of the many ornate furniture pieces in the room was an elegant drawing table, complete with splendid mirror between two ornate candlesticks. "Oh. Right." She had felt it was different even as the spirits had scorched their way back into her soul. Even her unearthly appendages had only reinforced that this was new territory for all of them. For just a brief instant, she had believed that maybe circumstances were still tenuously under her control. "Well, whatever." Ignoring the reverse image reflecting back at her, she headed off for that nap. "Nothing a pair of _glasses_ wont fix."

"Will she be okay?" Sherry had at least waited until the door was pulled closed before asking the question. As an added precaution, she slipped into French. Musume might be capable in the language but she probably wasn't fluent enough for long conversations.

"Hopefully." Most of Musume's life had been spent with a Mark branded on her arm. Then she had collected the rest like supernatural jigsaw pieces until she could capture Red Nova from Jack. They had been contained in a pair of thick emblems. Emblems that were now lined all over her body, seared across her face in jagged lines of red and purple. They had been glowing when the powers were running rampant and Crow had thought they would fade once Musume got them both under control. "I didn't know it could be like that."

"Looks there's a lot that we didn't know." Nobody had exactly been keeping secrets from Sherry. It was more that she just hadn't been there for the big reveals in recent days.

"Yeah. We should probably talk." Indicating the low couches, he took one while Sherry seated herself in the other. "Things got weird recently. Really weird."

"Would that be when Musume showed up again without anyone telling me? Or during the Pegasus Trinidad?" Being cut off from the Signers had hurt more than she would readily admit. Their alliance had been strained after she joined Z-One but gradually returned to one of trust soon after. When she saw Musume in the middle of the tournament, she had expected the phone to ring at any moment. Right up until Crow had landed in Paris.

"Both." Touching fingers to the side of his head, he could feel where a growing lump where a guard had hit him. "Musume's from the future." Looking up, he waited for the derisive outburst. "Huh. I expected more of a reaction."

"I do not react so easily." Folding her arms as tightly as she could, she glared at him to continue the story. "Z-One came from the future. The novelty faded long ago." When it was put like that, time travel had become slightly tired. Even Yusei had done it.

"In the future – _her_ future – a lot of stuff went bad. Akiza died first, then Jack died trying to stop Red Nova." There was no reason to stop and explain the significance of Red Nova. Z-One's files on the Signers had been highly extensive. "Luna managed to stop it in the end. She got stuck in the Spirit World with Leo. All of it broke Yusei. Full-blown depression." Patient eyes waited for the bit that he was trying to avoid. "I got sick. Not clear exactly what. The Crimson Dragon tried supercharging my immune system but it mutated the bug as well. Ended up ageing me right into the ground." After so many tellings, the story was starting to get old. Hopefully it wouldn't have to be told again.

"Fascinating." Even though she wasn't letting it show, the story actually had Sherry enthralled. "Now skip to the part that means something to me." A slight smile crossed his face. He could tell that she was bluffing yet humoured her anyway.

"There was a Shadow Duel during the tournament. Yliaster had the perfect trap for Musume. They didn't expect me to spring it first." Flashes of recollection marred his expression. They hadn't been fond experiences. "Spent some time in the Netherworld until she got me back out. Found an old friend stuck down there. Yusei's dad as well." Scratching his jaw, he couldn't really equate it to any other first encounter. "Weird guy." Nobody else yet knew of the ambiguous warning the late Fudo had given him.

Obake was the obvious choice yet Crow was finding himself suspicious of all his friends. Yusei had lied, Akiza had been keeping secrets, Jack was never exactly trustworthy, the twins could be fooled into just about anything and Sherry was revealing herself to have enough mob connections to build an actual mob.

" _Fascinating_." This time, she noticed how the dire events seemed to be dragging away from her original question. "Now explain how your 'sort of' daughter looks almost exactly like Akiza."

"Noticed that, did you?" Not deliberately trying to play on pity, Crow had just been trying not to uncover the one topic that was making him personally uncomfortable. "From the sounds of things, we were close in that future. Musume doesn't seem eager to go into it. I can guess why." At least everyone could universally agree on that. Nobody wanted to imagine their parents doing the nasty to each other. "I swear, I never thought about Akiza in that way. For all we know, it was just a drunken hookup." Like just about every single man in history before him, Crow had the right idea only to fail miserably with the execution.

"Nobody could get drunk enough to consider you a good choice." Scowling at the unintended slur to her friend, Sherry was growing increasingly angry with him. "Not without dying of alcohol poisoning first." After all the events of the past few days caught up with him, something inside the young mang just snapped.

"Is this all some big joke to you? Is that all _I_ am!?" Stabbing four fingers in his chest, Crow resisted the urge to rise from shouting to screaming as he stood up from the couch. "I pay for an expensive dinner, you don't show up. You send me a plane ticket, I get stuck in some dead-end Dallas airport." It had been one of the more harrowing tricks he had fallen for. After sixteen hours in various cramped cabins and relay flights, he had spent five more waiting at a tiny airstrip in the middle of nowhere before getting a call from Elsworth. At least the butler had the decency to sound apologetic.

"I have _literally_ been beyond the ends of the earth and back again in the past week. Every time I make a move, you make fun of it. If you don't have the guts, at least have the basic human _decency_ to tell me to my face." Sherry unwound herself from the sofa and stood opposite him. Over the past eight years, Crow had gained a few inches. Not enough to stand against Jack but able to brush shoulders with Yusei if he stretched slightly. Similarly, Sherry had developed into a tall woman with an intimidating presence to match. In the tight ranks of companies working for Industrial Illusions, she had made it her job to crush her way to the upper echoleons.

Pulling down the thick green cotton around his neck, she exposed the thin line running across his major arteries. It had only been a small wound but it hadn't been treated between the security room and them finally breaking Musume out. Under the right circumstances, a narrow scar would show up. "This is not the sort of thing I call 'fun'." It was a quiet, dangerous tone. "I have not been able to have 'fun' for many years now. There is either work or hunting down the scum who murdered my parents." Covering up the wound, she kept one hand over the material for a moment longer than was strictly necessary. "Did you think that I happened to be in Paris by chance? Or that I have a weekend off?" Still pretending to sleep in the next room, Musume stretched her hearing as far as it could go.

"Yeah, Musume probably rang you up. You and her have been best buds since last time you betrayed me." It was a cruel remark that he never would have made before being trapped in the Underworld. "What did she give you? Information on Yliaster, funds to get your company back?"

"She let me see my parents again." It was enough to stop him dead. Knowing Musume was from the future and finding out she could move so freely through time were two very different things. "The night we first met, she talked to me for a time. Asked me to do things in exchange for meeting my parents. Act as a validator for your friends, convince them of her intentions." Water was starting to gather in her eyes but she blinked it away. "I had heard those words before and told her I was not interested in such a trap. Then she did something. Took me back to that day that changed everything." It had been a sunny day, filled with laughter and love. Even as their company was being taken from the family, both her parents had spent as much time as possible with their daughter. "She was rough with my parents, forcing them to listen as well. Musume told them things, what I had done and how Yliaster would one day fall." She sniffed and wiped her nose with a finger. "They did not believe her at first. But it started to sink in when I shared what I remembered of them. Stories my mother would sing when I was too excited to fall asleep." Between his brotherly brain trying to pick an unfeeling comment, Crow was quite embarrassed to find both his arms had suddenly pulled Sherry uncomfortably close to him.

 _I'm sorry, let me jump through that window, catch the next plane out of the country and live the next eighty years as a goat in Tibet._ Went his inner voice.

"There, there?" Went his actual voice.

With all the grace and speed of an iceberg – which are notorious for their rapid movement – he felt two arms reach down to wrap about his shoulders. It occurred to him in that moment a disadvantage to being short he had not thought of before – trying to comfort somebody taller than him. Even though he was making the correct soothing noises and rubbing her back, tradition dictated the consoling party was wept _against_ as opposed to from somewhere above. Despite the logistical problems presented by biological (and vertical) shortcomings, it was an indispensable moment of comforting contact between the two broken people.

"Because of what she did, my parents died knowing that I would be safe. They died knowing that they would be avenged." Enjoying the embrace for just a greedy second longer, Crow stepped back again. It took more effort to remove his arms than he might have guessed. Rubbing his eyes failed to lessen the guilt he could feel building behind them.

"There's one more thing I haven't told you." That was never a good thing to hear and she knew it wasn't going to be good news. "To get what I needed, I had to make a deal with Yliaster."

"Only because you were stupid enough to get caught." Nobody but a Signer would have had the gall to do what he had done. "What deal did you have to make?"

"They agreed to look for a way to save Pearson if I kept Musume under control." Looking slightly off to one side, he tried to stop the universe from moving onwards. "And if you stopped looking into them."

It was the first slap that hurt the most. Maybe the second and third had more power behind them. The fourth, that had a nasty backhand to it with unyielding fingers for extra snap. All that Crow really registered was the first one.

"How. Dare. You." Insulting the judgement of her friend had been one thing. Attacking her personal vendetta of two decades to avenge her parents was another. "How _dare_ you!"

"Because otherwise they torture and experiment on Musume while leaving the soul of my friend stuck in a bleak limbo." Touching his swelling lip, he was relieved to find no blood on the tips of his fingers. "Kill me and come after you for good measure as well."

"You have already made it clear that I don't matter to you." Crow grabbed her hand as Sherry turned to leave.

"That's not true." A fifth – or maybe sixth, the blows were starting to make him slightly dizzy – slap across his already reddening face bit the inside of his cheek in a painful lump. "I made sure that you get a clean slate with them, starting right now. Nobody is coming after you. _You_ get to just walk away."

"And you don't?" Grasping the front of his jumper in one tight hand revealed the scar across his neck once more. "You've had eight years to get free."

"So did you!" Standing there shouting at one another was not the best way to make progress yet it was still progress. "When they came back, you didn't have to get involved. They came for _me_ , not _you_."

"Who said that you always have to do these things _alone_?" Balling up even more material, she dragged him to the limits of his height. "Sector Security, Grieger, Musume. All you have to do is reach out and ask for help."

"Are you fucking serious right now?" Grasping each wrist in a tight grip failed to give him the purchase to pull them away. No matter how many tugs he tried. "You could have asked me for help at any time, _any time_ , and I would have been there."

"Why would I call _you_?" Both of her hands were slowly pulling the jumper tight enough that the material was starting to stretch. "What reason would I have to expect you to come?"

" _Because I like you!_ " Truth exploded outwards in a single blow that he couldn't take back. "I _like_ you, Sherry."

"What are you talking about?" Those hands had the strength necessary to pull out of his own yet they stayed put while he held on.

"Did you never ask yourself why I kept asking to meet up for _eight years_?" Not that he had been completely obsessed. Crow had tried having relationships yet they never seemed to last long when he was travelling around the world to participate in various tournaments. Strangely, the few sane women he felt compatible with had an unfathomable desire for him to be more than a voice on a telephone ten months of twelve. "You're talented, intelligent, strong, stubborn as an ox and more impressive than people give you credit for. How could I not be attracted to all that?"

Each mighty slap had left him with stinging cheeks while leaving a narrow strip down the centre of Crow's face untouched. Gently placing a hand over each glowing circle, Sherry carefully tilted his head back as she leaned in to press their lips together.

"There." Speaking softly for the first time since the argument had begun, she admired the awestruck gaze staring dully back at her. "Would that be enough?"

"Ye _no_." Switching the words midway, Crow realised he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of an easy win. Also because he had managed to grind his brain into a gear other than 'completely stalled'.

"No?" Drawing in even closer, she moved for another divine moment of contact as his thoughts stalled once more. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I mean, no. I mean." Sliding a finger up to cover his lips from hers, Crow tried to figure out the complexities of grammar as eight years of himself screamed out from the past that he was blowing it. "It was wonderful." Simple answers screwing him over, he went for the more lengthy route. "But it's not what I want."

"Then what," Pulling down his hand, she kept touched the tips of their noses together, lips dancing just beneath with each word. "Do you want?" Crow looked into a living forest held captive inside Sherry's eyes and realised that every breath whispering through her lungs made her lips flutter ever-so-slightly against his own.

"I want" It was impossible not to notice how the light sparkling across her irises made them shine brighter than any emeralds. "I want for you to be happy." Slipping a finger down the padded cotton of his jumper, Crow knew it could feel the pounding beat of his heart. "Even if it means going after Yliaster again."

"What?" Pulling back, she dropped the alluring air like so much fragile glass. "Are you serious? What about your arrangement?"

"Don't worry about it." Waving aside the threat of bodily torture for himself and Musume and the eternal bleakness of Pearson seemed a simple matter. "We're just using each other. Yliaster knows that they won't catch Musume again and I know they're the best chance I have of setting Pearson free. Maybe I can find some way to get him out but they probably can't stop Musume if she cuts loose – especially now." Considering how much damage she had done while trying to avoid doing so, Musume had clearly become a formidable power to be reckoned with. "This deal benefits them more than me."

"So you won't try and stop me from going after them again?" It sounded like a complete reversal of his earlier stance.

"Not at all." That is, it sounded like a complete reversal until Sherry realised that Crow had never actually asked her to stop investigating them in the first place. "Just as long as you don't forget that _I'm_ here if _you_ need any help." Peering through the narrow crack at the hinge, one faintly glowing eye watched the proceedings.

"And what if I decided that revenge was no longer necessary?" Of course it still was for her. Z-One may have given her the closure necessary to move on from her parents but their company was another matter. Crushing the people who had stolen it was good business. "What would you want then?"

"In a perfect world," Sensing the moment, he carefully stretched up to where her face was waiting. "I can tell you exactly what I would want." Passing over her lips with his, he reached as high up her cheek as he could. "To take you to dinner and see where things lead." Only two sorts of men would have passed up that sort of kiss – idiots and those genuinely trying to do the right thing.

Sherry was trying to figure out if a criminal smart enough to evade Sector Security by himself could even know what the 'right thing' was when there was a knock at the door. Taking advantage of the interruption, she opened the door to reveal a thin man in a suit waiting outside. "I'm looking for Crow Hogan." Looking her up at down, certain assumptions were likely made. "Which you are not." Smoothly stepping between the pair before blood could be spilt, Crow winced as sharp nails dug into his shoulder. "Mr Hogan." With a cap tucked under one arm, the figure could just as easily be an honest worker as an Yliaster Agent. "Your plane is ready at the airport. We can leave as soon as you are ready." This would have to be the transport that Yliaster promised. They could certainly move fast.

"Can you pick us up at the rear entrance?" No matter how high-profile the hotel may have been, there was always a rear entrance for unobtrusive exits. Strangely, the same held true for shady hotels. Only middling reputations failed to account for people needing to sneak out. "In about five minutes?"

"Of course, sir." Inclining his head respectfully, the wiry man calmly toddled off to do his bidding.

"It looks like Musume and I will be leaving sooner than expected." Much as he hated to. For the first time in his life, Crow resented his brother for getting into trouble. "My new friend mentioned that Yusei was about to be in trouble. I have to go." Sherry would understand. Of course she would.

"If you ever happen to pass my way again," Leaning down to let her breath whisper past his ear, hairs raised on Crow's neck at the close contact. "Don't bother calling me." Such venom was because Yliaster had just flaunted their partnership with Crow right in her face. Even if they were willing to let her prior offences slide, it was just rude.

As she stalked off into the small dining room, Crow moved into the bedroom to stir the figure splayed out across the bed. Luckily, he was a tidy traveller and kept most of his belongings in the bag. By the time that Musume was faking a yawn and tucking herself into one of his spare outfits, Crow had gathered up his few scattered belongings. "Here." Passing over the scarf he had bought at the airport – which seemed like months but had only been days ago – Crow also held out a pair of sunglasses. "See? Glasses solve everything." For a person trying to impress a lady, Crow was consistently making the wrong calls.

When they entered back into the main room, Sherry was waiting once again. "Thanks for everything." Holding out a hand in a rare symbol of respect, Musume gripped Sherry's palm. "Give the idiot a call if you ever need me to pay back the favour." Reaching out his own hand, Crow was met with frosty silence and folded arms. "Hurry up." Already out in the corridor, Musume didn't have to worry about upsetting the other guests anymore. She was having too much of a good time for the wings to burst out. "We have a plane waiting." Unable to detect any chink in that armour that she had recently lowered, Crow simply stepped out into the corridor as Sherry gave no indication that he mattered more than the patterns on the wallpaper.

"For the record." Standing in the doorway with a scowl upon her face, Sherry was the most beautiful sight Crow had ever seen. "Playing you for a fool has amused me these last few years." Then the door slammed in his face hard enough to send a gust of wind down the corridor.

* * *

"What are you smiling at?" Sitting opposite that scarred face on the plane had forced Crow to endure any number of sly glances and smirking looks in the hour since it had taken off. Eventually, he could bear it no longer.

"Nothing much." It was said in such an innocent way that he could have almost believed the lie if he hadn't known her. "Just that it's kinda funny how hard Sherry slammed that door. Must have been a rubbish kiss."

"Hey, I..." Red embarrassment appeared around the edges of his neck as he failed to avoid the trap she had set. "How did you know about that?" For someone who claimed to have been sleeping, Musume had obviously heard a large amount of the conversation in the other room. It was possible that she had seen a few things as well.

"To think, it only took you eight _years_ and me being kidnapped to get a date." Coming from brothers would have ensued a fight. Coming from his daughter raised an embarrassed smile and a faint blush.

"I would like to think that my natural charm had something to do with it." A pained chuckle came from those painted cheeks. Whatever other changes were sweeping through her form, intense agony was one of them. Not in the normal sense. Being hungover could feel like the world was trying to crush you. Musume was feeling like every cell in her body was erupting from the inside out and the entire universe was just a thin membrane slapped atop the cracks. Anything could happen.

"What do you think about their deal?" And there it was. While sitting in the car, waiting for the plane to take off and every moment that they had been in the air, Musume had known she was being kept under observation on the orders of Yliaster. Had it been Yusei sitting in that seat, at least one broken limb would have happened. And maybe one severed.

"They probably want something else." Crow wasn't going to waste time with fake apologies. It was the deal that had been presented and a damn good one. "Keeping the world from finding out what you've got hiding inside you is the sort of thing that we do without being asked." It was always a choice to go around screaming the truth to whoever would listen. It was also possible to skip to the end and check straight into the psychiatric hospital. Better to keep the truth under wraps. "I'm worried though. What they said at the end... I've tried calling Yusei and he's not answering. Not even answer phone." After that, he had tried Akiza. She had told him to leave it alone.

"We'll take a look once we get back." One of two reasons that Musume had gone to Paris in the first place was because she knew how dangerous Yliaster could be. "And I promise not to terrify the world with my great big flappy wings."

"Let's not evenSHIT!" Eyes widened as an alarming thought smashed into Crow's mind from several angles. Opposite him, Musume raised a single eyebrow in moderate concern. When he failed to show any outward sign of recovering from his stupor, she felt obligated to speak up.

"We're going to have to eventually. Food has to come out somewhere." It was a dreadful joke that managed to shock him back into awareness.

"I'm going to have to explain to your mother how we snuck off to Paris and you ended up getting wings." Getting smashed in the face by an ethereal appendage had raised the level of injury Crow could expect in his life. It still fell short of the wrath that telling Akiza he had let their daughter run off and grow wings and a tail would bring.

If he was really lucky, Yusei was in so much trouble that she wouldn't notice. But – Crow mused over the probabilities as Musume laughed opposite him – things would have to be really bad.

* * *

 _ **I'm back. I'm updating. And I will (hopefully) be doing it more frequently.**_

 _ **But will you be reviewing?**_


	25. Outer Magnolia

Time is a strange thing. People think it passes at the same rate all over but they are wrong. Seconds trickle by in the boring office while hours float by in enjoyment. Past precedes present, future constantly dangles out of reach. Physics proves such ideas also wrong. Particles that age backwards, observations that only make sense when the clock is taken from the table.

Once calendars were ignored in favour of clocks and the sort of wavy graph lines that made people dizzy, what seemed impossible suddenly became possible. So – in one vein of understanding – at the same time that Crow's flight was making a diversion over northern Mongolia to avoid a powerful weather front that had erupted from out of nowhere, a young man was hurrying in from the rain in a city far below. An almost permanent traveller by nature, he fit right in with the nomadic society. In a weird way, he felt right at home.

As the door creaked shut behind him, a figure lurched feet down from the old desk as it tried to pretend that it had been paying attention all along. "Afternoon, Ganzorig." Reaching for a remote, the grumpy old man turned down the crackly television set on the corner of the counter.

"Hey, John. How's it going?" Certain names are more easily pronounced across the world. Whenever the young man found himself somewhere that his name was a bit out of the norm, he went simply by 'John'.

"Not bad." The pouring rain was letting him keep a hat hung low and his face hidden without being noticeably unsociable. "Bit wet out." Going incognito was easier than having to answer a lot of very pointed questions. Far too many people knew his face for the sort of work that he did to be done easily.

"Never known weather like this." Nor did Ganzorig know much about why John was in town. "Damn storm came out of nowhere. Probably this 'climate change' stuff they keep talking about in the news. Damn scientists keep changing their mind about if it's a good or bad thing." How anyone could choose to believe that irreversible damage to the global environment could be for the better was beyond the understanding of better minds. "I don't know. They keep saying it's the end of the world."

"Look on the bright side," Mounting the stairs that led to the second floor, John walked beneath a lightbulb that flickered at died with his passing. "It's not as if it would be the first time. We just have to make sure it doesn't stick."

* * *

Once upon a time, there had been a talented young Duellist. Not academically inclined, a bit ignorant on certain social matters yet quickly recognised for sheer talent on the Duel Field. There was an infectious nature to his smile as well. No matter how much his rivals grew to hate his talent, they grew to respect the way that he managed to keep forging on ahead.

There had come a time – as there was for all things – when all the good times with his friends came to an end. Now, most people would have been sad. The last time they had collectively seen of him was a light being turned off in a far away building. Then he had simply vanished from off the face of the planet.

Despite an exhaustive search by local authorities, there was no indication of his departure. Nobody could tell where he had gone, how he had left or even exactly when. 'Don't worry about it' his friends would say. 'He's just gone off to help people'. Exactly who he was helping was always a bit of a mystery. Word would filter back from time to time that he had been seen in this city or drifting around that country. All of the friends would try to chase down the leads if they were close enough yet usually ended up missing him by a matter of hours. When they happened to meet whoever he had been helping, it could be anyone from a powerful politician to a child who looked as if the sun had only just started shining for them.

Money was never much of an issue for the travelling souls. It was as if the universe had a knack for presenting opportunities to him when he needed them. Maybe it was a generous paycheck from one of those well-connected people, perhaps a grateful relative of a smiling child owned a small plane and was willing to give their new hero a lift. Living a frugal life and taking advantage of whatever free food was available went a long way in keeping costs down.

There was rarely any pattern to where the young man would end up. Until two months before, he would have never thought about going to Mongolia. Now he was fluent in the language and could describe the major history to the decade. He was also currently staying in a city on the northern border called Erdenet.

Currently lying down on the creaky bed in his room with a grunt of discomfort, several muscles were starting to complain from a rigorous workout that that had been put through without warning. Helping people wasn't the only skill that John was good at. It happened that a lot of his altruistic work ran almost directly alongside more sinister deeds. If police around the world were able to map all of John's movements over the past few years, they would eventually notice an astonishing pattern.

In dozens of places, a highly-ranked criminal organisation would be hit by severe misfortune.

Exact details varied. Sometimes a fire would break out and burn down safe houses or destroy expensive items. Others might include anonymous tips to the police with the locations of stolen goods and the perpetrators. What was really weird was just how little information that the authorities had before any of these incidents. In some cases, they were completely unaware of any activity at all.

No decent police officer particularly liked or wanted crime but – as the old saying went – it was better to have organised crime than random chaos. Which was why deals were frequently cut with bosses, arrangements made to 'look the other way' for a brief period. Even when rival gangs clashed against each other did the police try to force them apart. Nobody wanted a gang war. Which made it almost inconceivable that the appearance of a single man could be causing so much disruption. Even if they were intent on some crusade against any particular group, one person could rarely do much damage without help.

That is, this is what police would think if they knew any of it.

What they would soon know was that a counterfeiting factory had been reported in a small city in Mongolia. According to witnesses at the scene, it had sounded like a Duel was going on inside. Then everything went quiet. No witnesses had been on hand as an outline slowly slipped from a high window and cut their hand as they did so. Nor had there been any at the far end of the alleyways that a slightly limping figure had emerged from.

"Next time." Muttering the words at the ceiling past a twisted ankle, pounding head and agonising hand, John probably sounded mad to anyone listening in. "We just bust through the wall." A moment passed. "No, definitely the wall. I can't work that well without both hands." A weary sigh escaped the lips. As much as John loved to constantly see new sights, meet new cultures and help people, not having a place to take stock of his situation was starting to dawn on him. Everything was full-on the entire time.

Fate – never one to miss an opportunity – stepped in. A slight rumble rustled in one pocket. Dipping a hand in without looking, he brought the glowing screen of a mobile to hover over his face. Then he sat up as he read the words.

John had little idea of who would infrequently send him messages. His contact was constantly shifting through numbers and never minced words. If they had not been vouched for from the highest levels, John would have been more suspicious of their trustworthiness. As it was, the only concrete evidence that he had been given had been the words 'probably best that you listen to the advice' about ten months ago. It hadn't exactly been an occasion where his brain would let him to anything other than smile and agree to everything.

 _Ulaanbaatar. 22_ _nd_ _, 10 pm._ Another buzz ran through his hand as more words arrived. _Be early this time. It is important._ One time (or maybe two) John had been delayed and missed a crucial deadline. Exactly what he had missed was unclear, only that the informant had been upset with his performance on those four rare occasions. Or was it five? That wasn't the important issue just then.

Ulaanbaatar was the Mongolian capital a short distance to the south. At a distance of about 230 miles, it would be a brief trip in most other countries. Mongolia was by no means lacking in technology but traditionally enjoyed their nomadic lifestyle. People would travel gently across the entire country or stay close to their home. Extensive mechanical infrastructure simply didn't exist.

Exactly one train went from Erdenet to the capital city each day. Buses – bizarrely – went several times a day yet took nearly eight hours of radically slow travel. The roads were in dire repair and generally served more as guidelines of travel rather than an actual method. If he got the next bus, John could arrive in the early hours of the morning. Otherwise, he would have to wait until the next train could deliver him in the evening.

* * *

Anyone who had spent as long travelling about as Crow or John would learn the advantages of being a fast packer. Within ten minutes of the message arriving, John had cleared up any trace that he had been in the room and was limping in the direction of the stairs.

"Just heard from a friend that the police caught some counterfeiters with a pretty sweet setup." Ganzorig had his feet propped up on the counter again as John reached the ground floor. Anyone who was coming from above already knew he was incredibly laid back. "You checking out?"

"Depends." Checkout was technically in the morning. That didn't stop guests from leaving the night before. All that hosts generally cared about was having the extra day included in the bill. "Any chance of seeing anything exciting with the police?"

"Nah." Ganzorig dragged an old ledger from one drawer as he moved his legs from the wooden surface. "They've got it all tidied up nicely. Not even a chance of somebody trying for an escape."

"Looks like I'll be going then." Calculations were made, notes switched hands, bills were settled. "I don't suppose you could scribble in for me?" A signature was needed but John held up a thickly plastered thumb to indicate that he was clearly not up to holding a pen at that moment. "Cut myself shaving this morning. Stings like you wouldn't believe."

"At least you got rid of that scruff." For the first few days that he had been staying, the vague outlines of a beard had been starting to creep over John's face. "Take it from a guy with more experience, you don't have the right sort of face for scruff. Get yourself a proper beard or nothing at all."

"Ganzorig, you're not the only person who's told me that recently." It seemed that there was a voice constantly offering unwanted advice to John. "Thanks for everything." As John turned to leave, Ganzorig cleared his throat pointedly.

"You taking the bus to Ulaanbaatar then?" Far from telepathy, it was just the obvious answer. Nobody would be going out into the coming night without a destination in mind. Since the daily train had already departed, there was only the much cheaper bus that he could be taking.

"Yeah." Smiling over one shoulder, John could put a hopeful spin on anything. "Best to get an early start in the big city. Thought that I'd get some sleep during the ride there."

"Here." Throwing a slightly threadbare blanket across the gap, a pointed scowl intended to make it clear that Ganzorig didn't actually like the young man. It wouldn't do for word to get around that he wasn't the stony figure he pretended to be. "Payment for finding that old card of mine." On his first morning at the inn, John had located a faded Duel Monsters card fallen down the infinitesimal gap between the counter and the wall.

"Thanks." Tucking the blanket through the strap of his patched bag, John shrugged off the accomplishment. "Give me a call if you lose track of it again. I'll come to help you look." Anyone else would have made the words sound sarcastic yet there was a refreshing honesty about the freshly shaved face. Giving one last wave as the door was closed, John set a purposeful stride in the next leg of his constant journey.

In one form of understanding, 'John' was boarding the bus out of town at about the same time as Crow entered Japanese airspace. In another – more traditional and accepted – form of understanding, it was seventy-nine years before.

* * *

 _ **Fun fact: Mongolia has a lower population as a country than some cities do. Ulaanbaatar actually holds nearly half the entire population with 1.3 million residents.  
**_

 _ **In exchange for those amazing (yet fairly useless) facts, how about you leave an equally amazing (and much less useless) review?**_

 _ **(And yes, the title is a Monster's Inc. reference. You know you love it.)**_

 _ **Update: If anyone happened to catch an update notification, it was my bad. My numbers got a bit muddled. The last line orignally read "seventy-five years before". Simple mistake once you know why it happened.**_


	26. Arresting Developments

With reporters and photographers following his every move, it had been the combined effort of the cerebral inhibitor and a secure building for Yusei to get a full night's rest in his office. Members of the public might suspect that he was hiding from the clutches of the media. They would be exactly half right.

Growing up in rough conditions could teach a person resilience. There was little enough in the world that could frighten Yusei. Being cautious of Shadow Duels and Yliaster was just common sense. Death and painful death. Nobody in their right mind would charge straight towards any sort of death. Once he had faced down certain death a few times, the media no longer scared him as much as it once had. Being hounded by people he didn't know just wasn't a comfortable time for him.

No, Yusei was actually hiding from something far closer to home. Literally in his home. Whatever had happened with Akiza that one night had the potential to be dangerous to his friend and this was not a risk Yusei willing to take again. Just like those members of the general public who thought he was hiding from the media, Yusei was also exactly half right. He just hadn't admitted it to himself yet.

Regardless of what he was hiding from, Yusei had spent the night in his office in a futile attempt to regain a semblance of normalcy. It seemed that everything in every area of his life was starting to slide wildly out of control. Ogino hiring a doctor he couldn't order around, Nanashi's control of Yliaster slipping drastically and letting danger get too close to the Signers, even his damn sleep condition was no longer following the normal rules.

Sleeping – or whatever approximation came close under the neural inhibitor – was not a habit that Yusei tried to indulge in. Three, four days of staying awake at a time. That was how Yusei had operated since realising what would happen when he stopped. Since that night that he had woken up from the first nights rest in nearly a decade, he had put an effort into trying to get to sleep. Willpower could delay biology, keep effects at bay for long enough to get work done yet the urge was always there. Sleep was inevitable. All that he had to do was accept it.

Since sleeping restfully for the first time in a decade, Yusei had tried three more times to reach that same state. Twice through the normal way – simply laying back, relaxing into the darkness – which had ended in painful seizures as regular as clockwork. Once with the neural inhibitor that he was just waking up from as the day was dawning.

Sleeping in an office chair was traditionally awful for back muscles. Realising early on just how many hours he could end up spending in his office, Yusei had spent a ludicrous amount on a padded piece of furniture that only resembled the standard SRC variant by as a Duel Runner resembled a pedal bike. If Yusei ever put serious thought towards being buried in a style befitting a pharaoh, it would be one of the worldly possessions going into his tomb. But that was a different matter.

Stretching tired muscles, he positioned the magnificent throne upright again and removed the slim oval from his forehead. As with every time that he used it, he awoke feeling like he had just endured a boring lecture on the philosophy of insect mating rituals. Not exactly asleep yet very close to it.

He had needed some space to think about circumstances alone. So he had turned his phone off, locked himself in the office and tried thinking. Staring down at the device in his hand, Yusei couldn't help thinking that he was cheating somehow.

" _Dr Pessimal would like to request a meeting._ " Groaning as the words sounded around the room, Yusei let his head fall against the desk. Only two minutes removed from an unsatisfying bout with sleep yet already in high demand.

"Abi, we really have to discuss your timing." Rolling his head to where a squatting blow figure was standing beside his desk, he had to smile at her pout. "Did he mention what he wanted to discuss?"

" _Do I look like your secretary?_ " Huffing at his slight reprimand, she turned a cold digital shoulder before dissolving away.

"Don't be like that." No response came. "Abi?" Still nothing. Letting out a weary sigh, he fell back against his chair. "Just tell him he's welcome to come up whenever he feels like it." For a supposedly clinical computer program, the young sentience was unusually sensitive at times.

Tucking away the neural inhibitor in a box in the bottom drawer, Yusei opened a window to let the fresh air clear through his office. Security specifications advised against opening any exterior surfaces but he enjoyed a slight breeze while working. It also helped clear out at least one indication that he was living rough in his office.

Unlocking the cupboard at the far end of the cabinet beneath his windows, he pulled out one of the many spare shirts he kept for the frequent nights when he didn't go home. A pair of antibacterial wipes were nowhere near as close to a shower as he liked yet served just well enough to navigate impromptu meetings. One quick spray of deodorant late and he was as presentable as could be done in a few minutes. Just in time for the knock at his door.

"Dr Fudo." Standing on the other side of the doorway was the sort of figure that personified the word 'accountant'. Tie so straight that it was painted on, suit so grey it could be listed as 'government morality' and an array of pens so organised they could have been plucked from the pages of a catalogue tucked into his breast pocket. "Might I come in?" Being invited up was as clear an invitation as anyone needed yet Pessimal was the picture of politeness.

"Of course." Smiling warmly as he stepped aside for the other man, Yusei gestured towards one of the seats on the public side of his desk. "What can I do for you?" As always, he tried to put the needs of his staff before himself.

"Kindly accept my congratulations on your recent victory." The closest that Pessimal came to a Duel Field was the act of performing advanced calculus but the complexities were not lost on him. Yusei's win was well deserved.

"It was thanks to my team that I got far enough to try the finals." Hinting that he would rather discuss work matters, Yusei slid down into his own seat. "The secret is just helping each other along as far as they need."

"Hm. A worthy sentiment." Tucked under one arm was a thick leather ledger. "I wish that I had better news to bring but thought that the matter deserved your immediate attention." Everyone in the SRC would try to find a way to lessen shocking blows before delivering them. If Pessimal was dropping bombs this early, it was dire indeed.

"Exactly how bad is it?" Pessimal was the nightmare of every accountant and the first person the police called when they needed to check some books. If a penny was misplaced sixty years ago, he could track it down and find the interest that had been lost. Any extra people who existed solely on payroll would be linked to the real people stealing extra money and they would immediately regret the subterfuge. Yusei had actually applied to work an accounting study with him just to see how the man operated. It had been three days without sleep tracking down a mortgage rate that had been misapplied almost sixteen years ago between business partners. They had managed to levy a fine large enough to put a small company out of business. Pessimal had been the first person to actually turn down a job at the SRC until Yusei gave him a list of the various financial loopholes the SRC had to jump through to keep their finances in the black. It had been four years since that day and Pessimal was still only part-time. He had turned down a full-time posting to prevent putting the entire department out of business.

"It's difficult to say." Preferring a large notebook and antique abacus, Pessimal worked at a steady pace without any mistakes. For him to have any trouble was practically unheard of. "It appears that the books are in order."

"But?" That was the point where Pessimal's domain ended but he could still see a bit of what lay on the other side of the fence.

"But." Pulling out a thick green tome, Pessimal opened to the last few pages. Green was the colour he used for projects that personally interested him. It was not good that he was using one for the SRC. "I recently received two separate invoices arrived regarding the shipment of your Duel Runner." Two pieces of paper had been tucked into his pad like an oversized bookmark. It was easy enough to hide a few small transgressions from the average accountant. An extra digit here instead of there, putting the delivery date before the order date to hide a shady item. Pessimal knew all the tricks and more besides. Nothing got past him.

"One to America and another back?" It was an unsavoury practice at best. The freight companies would 'lose' or mislabel his paperwork and offer to 'upgrade' Yusei back to service he had originally booked for a small extra fee.

"Not quite. Two separate return shipping orders with a reminder that failure to have your item collected did not counteract the order." Spreading the documents side-by-side, Yusei could instantly see the mistake. Both orders were exactly identical – one Duel Runner, his name, same point of collection and delivery for both journeys – yet one had a different order number than the other. "It is not an uncommon mistake to discover but I phoned the shipping company to check that we wouldn't be charged twice." That was Pessimal through and through. Nothing went past that could mess up his books later on. "They confirmed that both parcels were received and provided two very different times. One was a few hours before yours." It had been difficult but Pessimal had managed to find a contact number for the facility in America where Yusei had retrieved his Runner. "The staff remember you very distinctly but do not recall the other customer in any great detail. Reports vary from a young woman to a tired man with a limp."

"Any security footage?" There wouldn't be. Whatever else that dark figure was, it was careful. No trace beyond the unavoidable second tracking number. Nobody else jumped to mind except Yliaster and they wouldn't be so careless as to leave a trail for him to find. Especially for one person they were trying to keep out of their business.

"Unfortunately not. And the only description I could get describes the person who collected it as," Pessimal checked his notes for the vaguest description possible. "Either a young woman or man, who might have had either long dark hair or been wearing a hat. They collected either a Duel Runner or maybe a large truck."

"So we have nothing." It was too early to be optimistic. There was a reason he had tried to lure Pessimal away from the police department.

"Unfortunately not." Far more than the two invoices were tucked into that ledger. Thick wedges of paper. "As you are aware, the SRC deals with a lot of companies to provide various equipment and resources. For some time now, we have been receiving complaints and accusations of theft. All have been fully investigated and nothing has ever come from them." There was another 'but' coming. "But I went back over the files and noticed that each of the accusations claimed that we had been erroneously delivered additional resources once the original claims had been settled. So I began an investigation through our own inventory. This is just the first draft list." Pessimal had taken the added time to print off the list and index it against the wedges of paperwork which he was passing over the desk. "It may be less extensive than it first appears."

"Dr Pessimal, I have every faith in your abilities." It was one of the few times that Yusei wished his staff were less than they were. Unlike almost all the other members of staff at the SRC, Pessimal only had an honorary degree despite being on par with many of the advanced mathematical holders. If there was an equation that could be related to finance, he could solve it in record time. "How likely is it that we've misplaced," Each item on the list seemed either excessive or expensive. "Two thousand blankets?" He flipped through several pages. "Eight hundred reusable plastic cups?" Hefting an actual wedge, Yusei stumbled across a more troublesome item. "A _plasma drill_?!" That instantly forced the issue from somebody pilfering extra resources and forging a few signatures to a serious breach of security. Plasma drills could be carried in the back of a small truck and deployed just about anywhere. Used by the wrong hands, they could bring down entire buildings in just minutes.

"Fortunately not." A growing aneurysm in Yusei's brain dissipated at Pessimal's calming news. "That is simply marked down for accuracy. It appears that a plasma drill may have been absent for several days but was located in one of the geology labs later on."

"How long will it take to verify these numbers?" Folding the paper onto the desk like a bad hand, Yusei buried his head in both hands up to the shaggy hairline.

"In their entirety?" Pessimal could sense the disappointment and sorrow in his boss. "Somewhere between three weeks and a year. It depends on how many people are willing to delay their work. The fewer who stop using resources to take inventory, the longer it will take. We will have to account for every item in every department and compare them all to individual predictions." Numbers of that magnitude tended to make Pessimal's gaze turn distant and slightly ecstatic.

"Are you willing to stand by what is in your report?" It had been a harrowing blow that Yusei would have preferred to wait a few more months to uncover. Anybody who could evade Pessimal's gleeful calculations for any length of time could have certainly kept the charade up until after he was dead and gone. It would have been preferable to the alternative.

"Of course. It may only be a draft but the numbers are solid." Pessimal probably didn't mean to come off as brusque but he had a reputation for being infallible.

"Then I will present it to the heads of department tomorrow morning and send an official message to Senator Izinski." Professional relationships with the ageing politician had never been better with the SRC suddenly the golden project headed by the King of Game. Their personal friendship was probably going to take a severe dive when Yusei admitted he was actively sleeping with Akiza, had probably been robbed of more than half the city was worth and likely to advantage of the 'cannot get any worse' situation to admit to his terminal condition. Maybe a solid seven on the doomsday scale of things not to do.

"For what it's worth," And there was no doubt that Pessimal was already calculating exactly what it would be worth. "It would be my honour to take some time off to attend to the inventory myself."

"Thank you." Adding the papers to a thick manilla folder, Yusei solemnly placed it in his top drawer. "Let me know what you need to get it done. No shortcuts, no streamlining. Track down every piece of paper if you have to." What little joy had entered Yusei's life was suddenly sharing a place with the crushing burden of responsibility.

"Restricted projects will be difficult to inventory." Pessimal might be a cold calculator but he still had a smidgen of human empathy. "It would probably be easiest if I verified all other areas first and submitted a list of missing materials to be compared against. There would be no breach of security that way." Standing up, Pessimal tucked the ledger under an arm and straightened his already perfectly aligned suit. "Though the work itself will be a great pleasure, it is not a job that I would have preferred existed to begin with." That was like a three-volume report on Pessimal's emotional turmoil compared to all the empathy he usually displayed.

"Let me know if you need anything." Standing up, Yusei shook Pessimal's hand. "I will do whatever I can to help this matter along."

* * *

When Pessimal left, Yusei finally turned his mobile back on. Once it had finished booting, a list of numerous calls from Crow spooled across the screen. It appeared that his brother was trying to call him up. Before he could return, a different number cropped up. Crow would have to wait for a minute.

"Yo, Yusei." Taking a deep breath in through his nose, Yusei tried not to let the Pessimal's bad news set the tone for the rest of his day.

"Aren't you forgetting my new title? Shouldn't you call me 'liege' or something?" Being a police officer was as much a calling as being a Duellist. Trudge just happened to be both.

"Nah, I'm the guy who's gonna stop your head from getting too big to fit through doors." Tucking the handset against his shoulder, Yusei flicked on the button for his hidden kettle and set the pot brewing. "I thought I'd drop by after the fuss had died down a bit an offer you a drink to celebrate. I'm outside." Peeking through his window at the ground far below, Yusei had a stunning view of half the SRC grounds, including a tiny dot waving in his rough direction from just outside Building Eight. That wasn't all that could be seen.

Carefully reaching down, he slowly flicked the switch back off again.

"... Give me a few minutes and I'll be right down." From his one previous excursion with Trudge, Yusei knew that it was entirely possible to wake up on the wrong side of the country with a fresh tattoo and empty pockets. Luckily, he had chosen to duck out before that could happen to him. Trudge himself had eventually been located in a rural village thirty miles from the borders of Niigata. Yusei had the sad knowledge that this would be an entirely different sort of meeting.

"Abi." At his word, the tiny holographic girl appeared in his chair, giving off an official air in her sharp business suit. "I'll be going with Trudge. Keep an eye on my office, don't let some idiots in and mess everything up." Rifling through his pockets, Yusei carefully placed his keys, phone and wallet on the table. "Let Akiza in if she needs it but nobody else."

" _I will put the entire building on lockdown when you leave._ " Peeling off his watch, Yusei added it to the pile. The only items he had left that were not clothing was the lanyard around his neck and the earpiece he was talking to Abi through.

"Don't let Dr Din get loose." Walking to the lift, Yusei felt it bouncing against his chest. Normally, he would put it in a pocket and only take it out when necessary but he wanted a reminder of exactly who he was.

" _You realise just how stupid this is._ " Already slouching against the lift wall in her holographic casual wear, Abi seemed bored by the proceedings she had already calculated to several degrees of probability.

"It's Trudge." Pushing the button more out of habit than was necessary, Yusei enjoyed the simple music as the lift descended. "Nothing gets past him." Gleaming silver doors parted his reflection and opened out onto the echoing, dusty lobby. Standing outside the two sets of double doors outside, Trudge was waiting with both hands deep in his pockets.

" _Tell him there are photos from one of his last night out._ " Throwing a sharp look at his daughter, Yusei didn't need to voice his disapproval. " _What? There_ _might_ _be photos. I could look._ "

"You've been spending too much time online again." Walking out across the floor, he tried not to laugh at the prank. It was exactly the sort of idea Crow would come up with. Maybe he should introduce them one day. A quick mental outline of the results chilled him to the bone and he discarded the thought. "Take care of everything while I'm gone."

Exiting through the first set of doors, Yusei stood just inside the building as the second set opened ahead of him. Standing on the other side of the thin grey divide was the ever surly face of Trudge. For what he was ordered to do that day, an extra set of frown lines had been carved into his skin.

"Just promise me there are no 'exotic dancers'." Getting in the quip just as Trudge's mouth opened, it was forced into a reluctant smile.

"No, no dancers." Watching Yusei peel off his lanyard, Trudge fought down feelings of betrayal.

"Well, my hopes are gone." Plucking the earpiece from his head, Yusei wrapped the lanyard about the item and held the bundle tight in one fist. "Police teams could really do with a bit more training. I had the opportunity to witness a supposedly covert operation recently and it was full of holes."

"Yeah?" Giving a dry swallow, Trudge decided that he could really have just done with a quiet drink that day. "How recently?" Raising his earpiece to his mouth, Yusei gave a sad smile.

"About two minutes ago. Abi, seal Building Eight." Tossing the bundle over his shoulder, Yusei had just enough time to step outside before the doors became hermetically sealed. "Make sure to do it right." Facing back into the lobby, Yusei slowly lowered himself to both knees and interlinked his fingers atop his head. Behind him, the yard was suddenly bristling with police officers. Dropping from every tree, appearing from behind every low bush. One even seemed to erupt from a pile of compost fertilising beside Building Six.

Drawing a pair of cuffs from his belt, Trudge gently wrapped one hand about his friend's left wrist. "Professor Yusei Fudo, Director of the New Domino Scientific Research Centre, World Duel Monster's Champion, third King of Games, holder of more degrees and winner of more prizes than can be conveniently mentioned and my friend," Pulling down the hand, Trudge moved the other until he could secure the cuffs in place. "You are hereby under arrest. For reasons of national and international security and law, your charges will not be mentioned at this time." Lifting gently under one arm, he helped the prisoner back to his feet as scientists began streaming out of every building and the main hub to interfere with the police presence on their lawn.

"Were all the extra titles really necessary?" Watching a dozen fights break out, Yusei was amazed as lab-coats tackled riot-officers with levels of skill he hadn't known existed. "I didn't think there was much chance of mistaking my charm."

"I thought it might help." Even as Yusei admired his followers from a personal point of view, Trudge was impressed from a more practical one. Never in all his years of service had he seen somebody dive in a flying tackle, hit the target and then bounce off so ineffectively. Even the police under attack were trying not to laugh at the levels of incompetence being shown.

"Your men should probably start falling back while they still can." What Trudge had initially failed to remember during the useless first wave was that he was not facing gangs of hardened criminals but researchers with social anxiety. Researchers who had access to the sorts of technology and designs that would make it to people at his levels of society in maybe the next ten years.

"You might have a point there." In a sudden flash of insight, huddles of disorganised rabble were actually both outnumbering the police and dispersed through them. Even the core group around Trudge and his prisoner suddenly seemed outmatched. Nobody had felt they were worth noticing with their futile attacks. Before they could really understand what was happening, the police were surrounded.

"Excuse me. I said, **excuse me**!" Taking off the thick helmet, a police officer even taller than Jack was carefully addressing the thronging crowd. "We are here to take Yusei Fudo into custody. He is complying and there is no need for this unrest." People in the crowd recognised the face. Even the shackled prisoner recognised him. Slightly over six feet tall, shockingly orange hair and the most polite figure in the police service, Captain Chul was well-liked by more than just his colleagues. "There is no cause for concern. Thank you." Unfortunately, even Chul's legendary charisma could only quiet the angry atmosphere. It couldn't stop prevent the intellects arranged across the lawn from applying themselves to the problem.

"Where's your warrant!" One of many seemingly identical scientists shouted the quite reasonable question as Yusei was kept in plain sight. 'See?' the tactic was meant to say 'nobody is being taken against their will'. Chul had probably advised it during the planning session. Most officers would have recommended a stealthy departure but there was an unyielding streak of honesty in the large man.

"We don't have one with us. This operation is being conducted under classified international law." Because of the complicated legal structure of the SRC, anyone who set foot there could potentially be charged under international accords instead of just the local ones.

"Then how do we know that this isn't illegal?" Such a question would stump the usual police captain. Chul was known for spending his time reading legal books to solidify his understanding of the system. That didn't mean that he could provide an answer without revealing more than he was cleared to. And the crowd of scientists was quick to realise that they had no way of determining if this was legal or not.

They unanimously decided it was best to presume not and act accordingly. Trudge was first to realise the sudden shift in mood as a glittering silver disk was sent flying through the air.

"Back to the trucks," A soggy explosion sounded from somewhere in the crowd and a mass of orange gunk enveloped several struggling police officers. "Back to the trucks, _**BACK TO THE TRUCKS!**_ " Valiantly leading the charge, Trudge tried to cover Yusei's head as best he could as the small group of police around them attempted to keep pace back to the transports hidden a short distance from the outside buildings of the facility.

"Sir," Keeping pace with the leader of the operation and his prisoner, a cracked helmet seemed to have realised the safest place was right beside the most valuable target. "We may need to call in reinforcements. They're overrunning us!"

"Don't be stupid." Having managed to turn a corner, the tiny group around Yusei were unable to see the carnage that was unfolding around the rest of their forces and Trudge only knew of the rather unimpressive first strike. "They're a bunch of nerds with bits of paper and our officers are kitted out in riot gear." A wry look from Yusei spoke volumes. At least Trudge had thought of the possibility that Yusei might put up a fight to being arrested. Riot gear was certainly a nice touch.

"But sir," There are certain points in life that stand out amidst the rest of the year. Realising that he had become the King of Games had been almost completely overshadowed by the moment he had shared with Akiza in the tunnels. Being arrested that day was certainly a low point but there was something about seeing the previously staunch man running alongside him topple in a shrill scream as a purple-edged blur dropped from the sky and tore out his Achilles tendon with razor-sharp hunting claws. Toppling to the ground, a deadly hawk returned to the intense observation for any more weak points in the group. Not eager to be taken down, one of the remaining police officers surrounding Yusei threw their Shock Baton into the air and managed to clip a wing, leaving the bird to pinwheel away in desperate pain.

"!" Yusei said a word that would have probably earned him disownership from Martha as he recognised the bird. "We should be moving a lot faster." Leading by example, he set off at a flat sprint with Trudge at his side. If Yusei was worried about what the bird represented, it was in everybody's best interests to face the other direction and run.

" _ **Vella!**_ " Something like an explosion happened back in the crowded chokepoint between Building Eight and Building Seven. A hidden force was bodily lifting and throwing screaming police officers, clearing a path for the scientists. Din had a history of being less than pleasant to people yet always treated that bird with special reverence. Probably out of respect for Yusei, he had always restrained himself from permanent damage to staff. With Yusei being escorted away in chains – albeit leading the escort at a frantic pace – a few of those gentle restrictions stopped working and bones started breaking as the police escort arrived at the armoured prisoner transport designed to carry Yusei to an uncertain fate. Seeing the danger to his fellow police officers, Captain Chul charged headlong into the fray.

"Here, you drive." Thrusting the keys to the truck into the nearest set of hands that weren't his own, Trudge clambered into the secure holding area as Yusei bodily threw himself inside. Six other officers tried to fit into the space designed to hold a maximum of four and already seating two. "Officers." Nodding slightly to the terrified faces, Trudge made sure to pull the doors shut before the next flying body could smash into the cabin.

"Can you promise me something?" As the truck rumbled away from the growing riot, Yusei looked up at his friend. Alone in the cabin, there was every chance that the conversation was recorded. But he needed to ask the question. "Promise me that you'll take care of them – whatever happens."

Whoever had put this all together knew to send Trudge. They knew that Yusei wouldn't step into a trap for anyone else. They knew that he would only submit to the legal system if it was his friend taking him in. And Yusei knew that they could have manipulated all the events to come.

"You have my word." As the words hung in the air between them, the pair could only sit in grim silence as they pictured the various bleak futures awaiting him at the end of the drive.

* * *

 ** _Honestly, there were two ways Yusei was going to end up in handcuffs but this one leads to more plot development. (Which isn't to say that other situations couldn't arise with him in handcuffs.)_**

 ** _Unless you also happen to be occupied with the legal system, how about using your freedom to leave a free review?_**


	27. Media Storm

Nobody really understood exactly what was going on. Every shift Akiza could get at the SRC was focused on trying to uncover whatever she could but even Din's raging temper could only get so far before security guards showed up and closed them down. Crow was tracking down every possible street rat who had ever been able to claim to 'know a little something about a little something'. Far from a political genius, Jack was simply walking into every public office of every government department and shouting at every lackey and middle-manager until they either directed him elsewhere or gave him an excuse for ignorance. It was an interesting tactic that was letting the trio feel out where they should be looking by who circled their wagons tightest.

There was little Leo and Luna could actually do to help so Leo was doing his best to start a movement in the Duellist world to focus public attention on the case and Luna was trying to reach out to any contacts she had made over the years. They were mostly superfluous jobs – just about every Duellist in the world was rattling their sabres when the King of Games was taken away and Luna's contacts generally operated in goodwill or humanitarian circles.

Their evening was spent comparing notes and cooking up new plans. Newsgroups were camped outside Poppo Time every hour of every day and police had been called out no fewer than three separate times. Backup had been ordered on the latest instance after a smashed camera had been personally owned instead of loaned from the station. A small riot had started and it was this scene that Akiza came home to.

"Back, **back you parasites!** " Every other weekend for the past decade, the kindly old woman who had raised Yusei Fudo met up with the kindly old lady who had sold him the residence at Poppo Time. The last time that they had met was the day before his arrest. Both had been doting over their favourite young gentleman Duellist. With the media trying to storm into her shop without even the pretence of buying one of the many beautiful clocks, Zora had reached for the broom when they refused to leave. Crow had advised Jack to stay inside until the situation abated. Then Crow had ordered Musume to make sure he had stayed inside.

By the time he had reached the shop portion of the building, a small group of huddled figures was being forced back out of the ornate doorways. Zora wasted no time. "I said **get out!** " Another swipe had people falling over to avoid the bristles.

"Hey, you can't do this to us. The press has a right!" One frustrated reporter had broken a nail when he fell and that perfectly combed haircut was ruined for the photo opportunities.

"Which right would that be?" Bulbs flashed as Crow stepped between the crowd and their attacker. "Would it be the right of a business owner to refuse entry to those they deem potentially harmful? Or what about their right to privacy? Just because this shop is open to the public," Crouching down, he made sure his smile was easy and unthreatening to the figure on the floor. Just condescending. "Does not make it a public space."

"Nice speech." With all the attention focused on Crow, nobody had noticed Akiza sneaking up from behind. "Shop's closed. Come back later." Stepping inside, she shut both doors before anyone could swivel cameras in her direction. "Zora, you're a treasure for putting up with them as long as you did."

"Let me out there and I'll sort them all out!" Still wielding the broom like a spear, a hardened warrior could barely match the righteous fury trembling through her body. "How dare they come in here and accuse our Yusei of being a crook. How _dare they_!" Crow had come to make sure that Zora didn't get in over her head. Carefully placing himself between the trembling bag of fury and a massacre of the scale that would shame a small army, he tried to gently disarm the deadly old lady. "And you can pry this broom from my cold, dead fingers."

"I think that maybe you should go and check on Jack." Carefully moving Crow to one side, she saw how the trembling was moving from tightly controlled towards bigger shakes. "Now then," Waiting until he had left the room, Akiza gently placed one hand on the trembling shoulder. "Zora, I want you to go and stay with Lyndon for a while." Her son was renting a small apartment in the city in those days. Nothing fancy. Just a bed, shower and space enough to work on his clocks. Despite the digital advent, there was always a market for carefully crafted mechanisms and he was making a tidy living from the work. "We'll take care of the shop until everything is sorted out."

Taking a deep breath inwards, Zora composed herself. There was little that could make an impact for long after eighty years of experiences. "Take this." Thrusting out the wooden broom like a spear, she offered the weapon unto Akiza. "It's not just a silly tool. My dear husband carved it himself from a piece of oak." Solemnly taking the branch in one hand, she could feel the heft to it. A heavy piece of wood that had kept Zora in good health with the exercise needed to move the brush at the end. "If anyone breaks in, a few licks of this should set them right."

"Any reason why you never mentioned this when Jack and Crow were living here?" Carefully examining the wood, she lifted a curious eyebrow over the curve of the line.

"It's wood." Zora uttered in a haughty tone. "Hardy yet definitely not as indestructible as those heads of theirs." In the midst of the rabble still thronging outside and the idiots still waiting in the back, it was a necessary moment of joviality.

"Oh, Zora." Keeping the broom in one hand, Akiza wrapped both arms around the older woman. "You really are a treasure. Give my best to that son of yours." Collecting her few possessions, the seemingly vulnerable old woman literally beat a path through the crowd with her handbag as Akiza locked the door behind her. Then – broom still in hand – she headed through to the main rooms of Poppo Time. When the majority of Team 5D's had returned from America, she had been presented with a freshly refurbished Duel Runner from the local Duel Academy. Maria Bartlet had personally supervised the final reconstruction by her class before it was returned. Said that 'it was time she got it back'. It was standing when it had originally stood, right beside the ramp leading to the exterior doors. Jack had been out on a few rides to reacclimatise to the city again and stored his Runner at the opening to the garage. Filling the empty slot where his had previously lived was Dilucesco, sandwiched between Crow and Akiza's rides. Yusei's Runner was still untouched where he had left it. That was their singular clue towards the reason for Yusei's arrest – that it wasn't Duel-related. The police would have been quick to confiscate the Duel Runner otherwise.

Wasting no time mournfully staring at the piles of metal, she walked up the stairs to where the exhausted trio had convened. Jack had consumed more coffee in the last thirty hours than most people consumed in a week. While that was true most days, he also hadn't slept between cups this time. Crow was tapping one foot against the floor as he leaned against the wall at the top of the stairs. Wrapped up in more blankets than any of the three thought necessary to even own, Musume was still shivering on the couch with the appearance of a thick burrito. Like all of them, she hadn't slept. Unlike the others, it wasn't out of concern for Yusei. Akiza wasted no time in cutting to the chase.

"So we've got nothing?" There truly is no evil like a governmental system. Stand against them and get crushed. Move against them and the rules suddenly seem to be less about punishing the guilty and more about protecting the powerful. Even all the lawyers at SRC were failing to make any serious progress. Between fielding calls to the legal department, she had also helped Din care for Vella. The mild electric shock had dome serious damage to the bird yet nothing that would last.

"More or less." It had taken three showers to get to the point that Crow could stand in polite company without people instantly smelling something suspicious about him. Certain places smelled of criminal and those scents – fear, desperation, greed, stale urine – tended to get picked up if people spent too much time hanging around those places. Crow had been hanging around too many of them to be accepted by polite company.

"Less." It would be politically unsound to arrest Jack so soon after taking Yusei away under unexplained circumstances. Standard protocol at a number of buildings were now in a groundbreaking state of cooperation and alerting each other as soon as Jack was spotted. It gave the others a chance to lock their doors in advance. "Either nobody knows anything or nobody is talking."

"It's g-g-g-government." Forcing the words through chattered teeth, Musume had maintained a fully human appearance for almost sixteen hours now. Not enough to tell if it would hold permanently but she was getting hopeful. "Probably both."

"How are you doing?" Although not the most pressing issue on their plate, Akiza was still greatly concerned about whatever was happening on the ratty old couch. Musume had gone through burning temperatures, intense itching, muscle spasms, sensory alterations and vivid hallucinations. Freezing sweats was just the latest addition. All of it had been accompanied by intense pains that shot through her body like lightning and stayed in the same place just as long.

"Fantastic." Sarcasm dripped from the word. "S-s-still not on solid f-foods." Jack had noticed the dramatic changed when a slip of control had resulted in the eruption of a very particular tail. Without saying a word, he had silently brewed a fresh cup of coffee and placed it just within her reach without getting that close himself. Beside Crow giving her a cup of soup when passing through to pick up a bit extra 'favour money' – having wisely decided not to store cash where anyone could simply steal it – she hadn't had anything since returning from Paris.

"You appear to be through the worst of it." Pressing a hand to the damp forehead, she could no longer feel the lingering cling of her hand sticking to Musume's scalp. It had dropped from being freezing to simply chilled. "Feel up to another lecture on how stupid you both were?" A mournful look told her Musume was clearly too ill to be chewed out again. Midway through the flight back home, she had sneezed twice. By the time the plane had landed, a full-blown fever was already underway. Whoever Crow had spoken with had arranged for customs to only exist on paperwork. He could have smuggled a stolen Picasso right past the security gate without any guards around to see what was happening. A waiting car with tinted windows had allowed them to sneak in through Poppo Time's alleyway without the media capturing a glimpse of them. His new friends had thought of everything.

"And you're _sure_ that they didn't say anything else?" This last was directed at Crow as she habitually pulled open one of Musume's eyes to check for any medical clues present. Seeing liquid gold staring back at her only mildly disrupted her train of thought.

"No. Since the last time you asked, they haven't magically gone back in time and changed the conversation to include their full evil plan." In a stroke of simple genius, Crow had taken advantage of the ongoing intensity to explain just the essential parts of their recent trip to France – Paris, tunnels, that Musume may have grown a pair of wings and a tail, how he made a deal with the Yliaster faction that had sent him to the Underworld, oh look a pretty bird, gotta go, bye – before simply leaving to do his part and letting Akiza and Jack process their emotions without him around to actually shout at. He had chosen to leave his last interaction with Sherry for a time when the whole family was together and he could fob Yusei off with the distraction. "They just said that Yusei was about to get into trouble because of something he had done."

A slight raising of voices came from outside. Using the media like so many starving guard dogs (and the analogy was painfully accurate from Crow's experience) the group could easily be alerted to the approach of anyone towards Poppo Time. Hearing a knock on the side doors was almost superfluous. When Akiza reached the ramp, she could even recognise who was waiting on the other side purely by their outline.

"Trudge." Looking up at the looming figure, she was out of sight of the cameras in the square.

"Izinski." As he was under observation, the grizzled cop was avoiding casual conversation. Being seen talking to close associates of an accused criminal was asking for trouble. "May I come inside?" Every word was carefully staged in order to avoid the implication that they were anything other than two professionals having a professional conversation.

"Of course." Opening the door slightly wider, only years of trust were giving Trudge the benefit of the doubt. He might have only been doing his job but giving more than a few seconds warning would have gone a long way to lessening the sting of betrayal. Closing the door from behind – in order to stay out of shot of the cameras – she led him up to stairs to a frosty reception. Nobody exchanged greetings, no smiles were sent, no harsh words levied. Noting the trembling figure wrapped on the couch, Trudge let a moment of concern precede the main topic of conversation.

"What's up with Sparky?" As soon as he had seen Musume climb up on stage with her family, Trudge had spewed half his coffee across the room. Decent sight had let him see where she was situated between Crow and Akiza, having half a brain still functioning had connected the dots and he suddenly realised where she had inherited the nerve to steal his Shock Baton, zap him and steal his wallet from. Even eight years removed, she was almost exactly the same as she was back then. As with many situations relating to the Signer clan, Trudge could detect the distinct whiff of strangeness and decided not to pry too closely.

"Under the weather." Reaching one trembling hand out from under the blankets, Musume casually flipped Trudge off as her suffering continued. "Where have you been for the last two days?" The first angle that Akiza had tried after watching the mob had driven the police off SRC grounds was going directly after Trudge. First through his phone, then his office, then Mina. It was as if he had simply vanished into the same hole as Yusei.

"Same as you." While Jack had been trying to confront the system, Akiza trying to get into the system and Crow attempting to get around the system, one of their friends had simply gone ahead and used the system the way it had been built. "Trying to figure out what happened to Yusei. As far as I can tell, he's still in secure holding at The Facility." A prison for Duellists seemed like an inappropriate place to hold anyone being convicted under international law. What many people didn't know was that a handful of cells had been altered specifically to contain supposedly unstoppable people until they could be moved to more permanent accommodation. Psychic Duellists, escape artists, professional confidence tricksters. "Where're the twins?"

"We gave them the codes for the Tops penthouse and told them to stay there." Both could just as easily work their connections from up in the sky as they could in the streets. With the enhanced security the Tops apartments keeping out unwanted visitors, it also kept them from the stress of facing the mobs of reporters. "And what do you mean 'as far as you can tell'? Can't you just go in and look?" And then Jack registered the looked on Trudge's face. He had seen that look before, usually staring back at him over a sink. Betrayal of friends, guilt over betrayal, confusion as to how making the right choice had backfired so badly.

"Whatever this thing is, it's classified all the way to the top." People at Trudge's level of authority usually had a few unofficial channels that they could employ to get a feel for sensitive situations. Not only were his contacts unable to tell him what was going on but the contacts of his contacts were declining to take calls. When the people near the top of the ladder were afraid to speak, it was because it was the people at the top were keeping them quiet. "Mina's a lot better at this thing than I am but she said not to expect anything in a hurry. Only reason that I even think Yusei is still safe and tight in The Facility was because I was up all night making sure that no transfers had happened and checking footage in case someone 'forgot' to fill in the paperwork."

"What's he being charged with?" Classified international laws were nobody's particular area of expertise. A 'friend of a friend' of Crow's might have been involved in a few things that nobody could really confirm. Two steps from foil hats, they had uncovered a few bits that indicated any classified international laws did not work well for those who knowingly broke them. By the time that modicum of information had reached Crow's ears, the paranoid person had already fled the city.

"Not sure." As the old military saying went 'I don't know but I've been told'. It generally translated into 'I am too thick to ask any questions and blindly follow orders instead'. There may have once been a time when Trudge had been like that but not since that fateful day Yusei had called him for help. One question about Goodwin followed another until he had turned into a methodical crime-solving machine that had been let loose on New Domino City. "Orders came directly from Lazar. I went right over to see him to make sure it wasn't a hacker playing a twisted joke. He wasn't happy about it but the orders are coming from above even his paygrade."

Until that moment, they had been holding out a vain hope that Yliaster might still be behind it all and they could force the corruption into being revoked by authorities. Lazar – like Trudge – was a trusted person in a position of authority. Like Trudge, he would have investigated the orders as far as he could. Whatever Yusei had been caught up in, it was almost certainly legal.

"Can you get us a meeting with him? Make sure he's alright?" Fine. If Yliaster – either of the two competing factions – could be eliminated from the running, it only freed up their resources to pursue other angles. Being held before trial meant that they could arrange visits for legal advice, check on the conditions Yusei was being kept in, any number of reasons. Crow knew a few tricks from his time tangling with either side of the law.

"Not a chance." Scowling in his helplessness, Trudge was every bit as committed to the group as he was to Mina. "Like I said, the only way to tell that Yusei's still in The Facility because there's no way that he could have left since I dropped him off yesterday. Setting up a meeting is out of my reach." Being back in the same jail that he had been in on baseless crimes before would have fazed the normal person. Yusei just took one look around and nodded his head at the sight before being calmly escorted to his subterranean cell. "Look, I only stopped by as a courtesy call. Any longer and word gets around that I'm tipping you off. I'll send someone if there's any developments on my end. A few of my old informants still owe me favours. Better to keep a bit of distance between us while this is going on."

"These old informants of yours." Sensing which way the wind was blowing in advance, Crow had a premonition of needing extra showers in the near future. "Any chance they like to work in upscale establishments?" Two bars where the difference between what went in at one end and what came out of the other was mainly location, a shop that served viewed expiration dates as advice and a slightly shady parts shop were not as awful as he would have expected.

"Shit." Knuckling her forehead, Akiza could feel the insanity building behind her eyes once Trudge had safely departed. "First there's two Yliasters and now we have to put together a legal case against we don't know what." If that unmarked phone in Yusei's office had a link to Nanashi, she would have called it. If Crow had a way to contact those shady figures from Paris, he would have reached out. They had collectively worn out all of their official contacts, scared off their unofficial contacts and failed to make any sort of headway. "I don't think that this could get any worse."

There was a wall at the SRC. After one of many fruitless experiments to research a cure for Yusei's condition, Din had knuckled his way down to show it to Akiza. It had started as a sort of joke. Famous last words before events had turned bad. Terms like 'how hard can it be' or 'what's the worst that can happen'. Every time that an experiment went awry in ironic circumstances, the words were immortalised one that wall in a list of languages so that everyone knew what to avoid saying. Because certain sentences always seemed to attract the wrong sort of attention. Sentences like 'I don't think that this could get any worse'.

A gentle buzz sounded as Akiza's phone vibrated inside her pocket. Buzz-buzz. Here comes trouble.

"Who is it?" Everyone at the SRC except Din had called Akiza at least once to see what they could do or check up on her progress. They had backed down after she told half of them to get back to work and the rest to start doing something themselves.

"I don't know." All of Yusei's employees were gifted with immunity from scammers and drops calls. Any and all callers were automatically vetted by the vast security systems each phone was linked to before they were allowed to establish a connection. As an added treat, any publicly available record of their numbers was stripped unless asked otherwise. Akiza's number was about as private as it could be.

"I thought that was impossible?" Crow had once tried using a payphone to call Yusei only to be disconnected before they could talk.

"It could be a wrong number." Private numbers were still allowed to connect in case they were new acquaintances but they could easily be blocked after the first call. Flipping open her phone let Akiza preview the message. It started with three words designed to get her attention.

 _Is Musume there?_ Whoever had sent the message clearly knew what they were doing. Using the preview to get her attention without giving anything away. Most worrying was not that they knew Musume's name – anybody could have heard and spread it during the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament – or the link to Akiza but that they would be together.

"Who is this?" Akiza had fallen silent and her family instantly knew there was something going on.

 _A Nobody. A friend._ It was the worst attempt at subterfuge any of the Signers had ever come across. Probably because it wasn't subterfuge. At least, not subterfuge in the way they were familiar with.

"Who is it?" Musume had been useless all day without connections to call on or leads to chase. She was at least able to tell trouble was brewing.

 _Have you found a way to talk to him yet?_ Another message arrived as Akiza wondered how to answer Musume's question. There was no question as to who 'he' was. It could only be Yusei.

"Somebody wants to know if we have a way to talk with Yusei. They say they're a friend." It was ironic that the person who had the most contact with the person at the other end of the conversation was the one locked away. Yusei alone had even seen the dark figure in America. Although Musume had been gifted with Dilucesco, she didn't even know her generous benefactor existed.

"Hey, this isn't on me. Probably." All eyes had turned to Crow when talk of a mysterious friend rang too much like his new associates. "They said they'd get in touch with me if they found anything that would help Pearson. This has to be someone else."

" _What do you want with Musume?_ " Muttering out the words as she typed them out, an answer was quick to reply.

 _Can you get Musume to promise not to hunt me down?_ Finding out if Musume was present seemed to be only in order to avoid her rage. Whoever was on the other end of the line clearly knew far more about the Signers than the Signers knew about them. Well enough to know that Musume had a temper.

"They want to know if you'll agree not to go after them." One eye glowed malevolently as it mulled over the promise. She had no particular affection for Yusei but nobody went after her family and got away with it.

"For now." It was still unclear who was on the other end of the line. If they ended up being a friend, she would keep to her word. If it turned out to be Yliaster, wings, claws and rage would be on the way. Once her sinuses cleared up a bit.

" _Okay. What do you know about Yusei?_ " Hidden nearby, a sinister grin formed. Nobody believed in something for nothing. This meant that Akiza was curious enough to play along.

 _Enough._ Reading the text aloud, she kept the entire room included in the conversation as it progressed. _If I can tell you a way to talk with him, what would I get?_ It was a long shot but nothing they had done so far had come close to even confirming if Yusei was still in New Domino. Trudge may have gone through all the available footage but that didn't rule out the possibility that a few minutes here and there had been swapped out to hide the removal of a prisoner from The Facility.

" _Name your price._ " She didn't need to check with the group right then. They needed this person and there was no damage in seeing what they wanted. Asking for a price was not the same as handing over a blank check. It was a good thing that she hadn't agreed to anything upfront because the price was beyond extortionate.

 _Red Dragon Archfiend._ Akiza immediately put a hold on the conversation without voicing that last entry. Seeing the ludicrously high price had been enough of a shock that she finally picked up on what she should have seen from the beginning: why the number seemed so familiar.

"Crow, let me use your phone." Keeping her own phone in one hand, she scrolled through the list of contacts in Crow's phone. There was one number they had in common that she would never save on her own phone. "That's weird." Looking back up with a crinkled brow, she tried to figure out the facts staring at her in the face. "It's _my_ number."

"What?" Taking the handsets for himself, Crow carefully looked over the strings of numbers in confusion. There was no doubt that the pair were identical. "Could they have cloned your phone?" Copying a phone was a simple matter for a company. Cloning an encrypted handset without setting of dozens of alarms was more difficult.

"Maybe they're just spoofing the number." Eyes turned to Jack. Computers were far from his area of expertise. "It's like Crow pretending to be a professional dancer. Looks good on the surface but it's only on the surface." Under different circumstances, they would have pressed the point a lot further. Instead, Jack only made one joke about Crow in a tutu, took a despairing look in return and they moved on.

"So what do they want in exchange for setting up a meeting?" All Duellists could spot a delaying tactic from a mile away. Shuffle the cards a bit slower, take slightly longer playing moves, deliberate over which monster to attack. Divert with seemingly important questions. Akiza was clearly trying to stall.

"Focus on a happy memory." While checking over the spoofed number, Crow had read the last message. Remembering the advice Jack had given him in Paris, Crow repeated the words back to him. "Take a deep breath." Placing a comforting hand on Jack's shoulder, Crow received a stare so intense it was possible to fear for the safety of his arm. He carefully ended the contact. "Promise not to kill me?" An agreement had already been levied in order to keep Musume from losing her cool. Another was extorted from Jack before the triggering words were let out. "Red Dragon Archfiend."

Jack erupted upright so fast that the chair smashed into the wall four feet away. It was possible to be heard from outside and less reputable outlets would report it as emotional trauma related to Yusei's imprisonment. There was no way to tell how true that was. But Jack's outburst wasn't entirely on behalf of being extorted. Red Dragon Archfiend was the central point of his Deck. Giving it up wasn't simply relinquishing a powerful Synchro but all the offshoots that came with it. Many of his strategies would be rendered useless without the final monster to execute them.

"No. Not a fucking chance. It's too dangerous." Jack hadn't tried summoning Red Nova Dragon since that fateful Duel just before the team had gone their separate ways eight years ago. It was possible that it had been a one-time fluke with residual energy left behind after Musume had siphoned away Red Nova but there was always a chance that he could still call forth the mighty beast. There had never really been a need to try.

"Only t-t-the Legendary S-S-S-Signer can do it. Right?" Still freezing beneath her many layers, Musume was playing a literal Devil's Advocate. With the spirit now trapped inside her, it was possible that she might be able to call forth the demon enhanced dragon as well. But she respected Jack too much to ask for Red Dragon Archfiend to try. She also understood the struggle that he was facing.

"Jack, this might be our only chance." All of them had seen at least one bad conspiracy film. Black vans, bags being put on heads before the camera cut out. Every hour that went by was a dozen more where a shady government agency could spirit Yusei away from the city. Neither Crow nor Jack were willing to let their brother vanish. The only question was how far they were willing to go. Crow had allied himself with Yliaster. How far would Jack be willing to go?

"If – if – they manage to get you in to talk with Yusei." Both fists were clenched and Jack's back was trembling with his inner struggle and anger at being had over a barrel. "Legally and face-to-face." It was an impossible choice to make but Jack took his pride and reigned it under control. "They can have it. After you make sure he's alright." It was a major point in Jack's life. To say you would do anything for another person was easy. To actually do it was the hard part.

"Jack, I... Thank you." Akiza's disbelief was rivalled by her amazement that he had agreed. Turning back to her phone, she delivered the news. " _You have a deal. If you can arrange a legal meeting, you can have Red Dragon Archfiend. Only after Yusei goes free, not before._ " Elsewhere in the city, a figure leaned back in amazement. It had been a bluff. Not to ask for anything else but just to see what would happen. They had never really expected the insane request to be granted.

 _Agreed._ Thinking it over had taken less than a second. It was more than a fair bargain for the less important side in the conversation.

" _What have you got?_ " Even though they had managed to reach an accord, the invisible party had recognised the catch Akiza had tried to sneak in. Red Dragon Archfiend was only handed over if Yusei went free. Which meant their deal could easily go unpaid. Fair enough. It wouldn't matter if he ended up going to jail.

 _Granting an audience is beyond my power. But not yours._ It was incredible that this person at the other end of an unexpected conversation could have so easily discovered what had eluded them all for days.

" _What do you mean?_ " A thought went towards how anyone could arrange for Akiza to meet Yusei without revealing themselves while Trudge had been unable to even confirm that he was still in the jail.

 _Are you aware of the IA2-48 evaluation?_ Akiza flashed back to America for an instant. It had been a passing concern that she had shelved for later and knew little about. Was it possible that it could somehow be a key to let her see Yusei at least one more time?

" _Yes. It lets me live at the same address as Yusei._ " There was a lot more to it than that but Akiza had no idea just then. " _What about it?_ "

 _Play them at their own game – human rights._ It was a loaded term with their friend in prison but Akiza was paying attention. Right up until she read the next – and final – two words of the conversation.

Mind racing through the possibilities, Akiza was forced to recognise that maybe it was possible to talk with Yusei. "What did they say?" It would just rely upon a tactic that nobody else would have thought of in time. Or possibly at all. "It had better be worth it." Even now, Jack's enraged face was on the verge of going back on his word. Only the idea that they could possibly clear Yusei's name was reigning him in.

"It might work but it'll be deeply unpleasant." Whilst recognising it might be her only chance, the actual idea was giving Akiza butterflies in her stomach as she closed her phone again. "I'll need to get a few things out of storage at my parents." Part of her mind had already picked out exactly what she needed to pull it off. The rest was still in shock.

"What was it?" Thankful that neither of the twins were present to hear the words she was imparting to Yusei's brothers, Akiza watched as Crow laughed hard enough to grab a chair for support as even Jack's demeanour became less thunderous. Musume leaned over and actually vomited upon hearing the words, wings sending blankets flying as she momentarily lost control.

The other invested party allowed itself the luxury of a quiet laugh. There had, of course, been a few other ways but only one that was as effective and none that were even nearly as funny. Still smiling slightly, they slipped away unnoticed as various wheels prepared to be set into motion.

* * *

 _ **If no one else can help and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The A-Team (to write a review because we would love to see how Murdock reviews literally anything).  
**_


	28. Conjugal Visit

The Facility had undergone a few radical changes since the last time that Yusei had been incarcerated there. At the time that he had been facing off against a corrupt warden with little real skill, she had still been angry at the world. At her father, at her Psychic powers, at the Mark on her arm that bound them together. If Akiza had known about Yusei back when he had been locked in a cell, the Black Rose Witch may have attacked the building to try and destroy him. It was strange how much their situation had changed.

"Okay, this is the last opportunity." A pair of vast metal doors had been integrated into the structure during construction. It had allowed heavy machinery in and out to continue building and improving the inside as the cells were gradually filled with prisoners. Those smart enough to try and sue Goodwin for health issues caused by being close to the construction had not lasted long. They tended to discover that they had 'volunteered' for certain projects to earn early parole. Not many of them could be found after leaving their cells. "Are you sure that you want to do this?" Once Trudge had gained the clearance necessary to find out what had happened to those prisoners who incurred Goodwin's wrath, he had stayed far from the jail unless absolutely necessary. "There isn't any going back once you have."

"Do you think that he would do any less for us?" In order to avoid the teeming cameras that had sprung up at every location even vaguely related to Yusei, Akiza was dressed in a long overcoat with a hat, sunglasses and scarf covering most of her face. It could almost have been Musume sneaking in except that she had refused to partake in any capacity for the plan. "Let's just get this over with before anyone catches on."

"Suit yourself." Leading the way over to a much small gate system used for people to enter, Trudge swiped an ID card through the scanner before typing in a long code that went with it. "Don't forget, there're probably more cameras inside than there is out here. Be careful what you say." They had already gone over a few other points but Trudge was right to reinforce this one. If the hidden eyes of the world were listening in, anything she said could be twisted to suit a nefarious purpose. "Try not to dawdle if you don't have to." Entering into a heavily reinforced corridor, a shudder ran through his frame. "This place gives me the creeps." Crossing to the far side at a slightly faster pace than normal, he keyed another code into the waiting pad and waited for the door to open.

Waiting on the other side of the thick metal was a strict face that reminded Akiza of Heitmann from Duel Academy. Not in appearance but in that arrogant streak that they knew best and could only be persuaded otherwise if someone slapped them in the face with enough proof and authority.

"Warden Ishi." Trudge seemed unsettled by the appearance of the actual warden of the prison. "I didn't expect to see you today. Is there anything the matter?"

"Not at all." An imposing woman by practice, Warden Ishi was a formidable figure who clearly spent a lot of time polishing increasing an already perfect physique. "But when the Assistant Chief of Special Investigations shows up, I feel it helps to personally attend. Don't let it be said that the different branches of government never do anything to help each other." For just an instant, Trudge wished that he was back in the bad old days where corruption ran rampant and he could either bribe or intimidate the warden into leaving.

"I see that your visitor hasn't yet been briefed on proper procedure." If a person was able to adjust to the looming mountain of muscle that was Ishi, they could register the two burly guards in full riot gear behind her. "I'll have to ask you to remove the hat, glasses, scarf and jacket." Ishi said the word 'ask' – and every word that had preceded it – as if read from a manual. The tone was clear – she was the warden, this was her prison and anyone who didn't like it was free to either leave at once or stay for a lot longer. The first was an option only to those visiting, the second was allowed for both guests and residents.

"On second thoughts." Ishi was trying to outstare Akiza as she followed the order. In the last day, she had gone from not even knowing if Yusei was in the city to standing in the same building as him. Nobody could intimidate her right then. "You can keep the coat."

"Has he been informed yet?" Sensing the hostile atmosphere, Trudge tried to move the situation along. "And moved to appropriate facilities?" Both of the helmets moved to evaluate him as the stand-off continued.

"My people are just waiting for the order." Watching Ishi smile reminded Akiza of a medical textbook. A perfect display of powerful teeth. "To be honest," Twisting her head around to glance at one of the guards, a quiet nod came in reply. One hand reached up to whisper commands into a radio. "I wasn't even sure that you would show up."

"To be honest," Returning that smile with a dreadful cheer, Akiza had the feeling that she had just stepped from an aeroplane with the point of no return dwindling into the distance. "I wasn't sure if it would work."

* * *

A change of venue is always nice. With nobody knowing the full extent of his charges beyond 'crimes under international law', the penal system had incarcerated Yusei with the fullest extent of their powers. There had been no phone call, no lawyer and no visitors since Trudge had been forcibly removed from his escort. "Hey, genius." Rapping a baton onto the thickened steel door, one of the dozen guards posted outside his cell checked over the orders one last time. "Looks like you're going for a walk." Rattling chains sounded from within as the prisoner tried to lean forward inquisitively.

Knowing how intelligent her prisoner was, the prison warden had ordered Yusei to be restrained at all times. He was only let out for toilet breaks once every few hours and tied down while he rested in the evenings. Meals never required cutlery, the trays had to be pushed out of his reach before they were collected. "Up." Looking around at the uniformed figures filing into his cell, Yusei said nothing and did nothing except quietly rise to his feet. After Trudge had been sent to arrest him, he had known these were exceptional circumstances. Being taken from his cell in the middle of the night was about what he had expected.

When it came time for transport, Yusei calmly allowed himself to be restrained into a wheelchair and escorted down emptied corridors. Anybody who came within thirty metres of the prisoner was treated as suspicious and escorted away by two guards from the group. Anybody who came within twenty was treated as hostile and quickly taken down. It was a quick trip to the service elevator. One camera was dangling by a thread in the corner. "Yeah, maintenance has been meaning to get to that." One of the guards had noticed Yusei looking. "Low priority." Yusei still said nothing. Being taken in a service elevator meant that there was room enough for a fight if he got loose. With ten guards in riot gear, he would be beaten to a pulp before even getting out of the chair. An escape would have to wait.

The slow lift jerked to a halt. "All out." The heavy doors opened onto an identical corridor to the one that they had just left. Wide, brightly lit. The sort used only for the highest-profile prisoners. Once again, the guards formed a formation. Two guards ahead of the convoy, two at the back, two on either side of Yusei and the final two each taking a handle on his wheelchair. In the unlikely event that a squad of kind-hearted mercenaries happened to launch a rescue, the two pushing Yusei could let him go and be ready to respond in an instant. "This is your stop." Drawing to a halt outside one of the many identically innocuous doors in the hallway, he kept the surprise from showing on his face. Being taken away to an uncertain fate was not what he wanted yet Yusei couldn't help feeling that was not how things were meant to go.

"Do not take anything, do not give anything." One of the guards pushing the wheelchair undid Yusei's bonds while the other kept a tight watch on him. "A full search and inventory will be performed upon leaving. If you resist, we have authority to use force. Do you understand?" Of course he understood what he was being told. Otherwise, he had no idea what was going on. Levering to his feet, twitchy guards flinched towards the prisoner as he stumbled to press one hand against the wall. It had been some time since he had been able to do more than stretch his legs along the floor. Walking to a minute to adjust to.

A guard by the door opened it for him and quickly stepped as Yusei stumbled through on wobbly legs. Inside was not what he had expected. Turning to ask for answers, he watched the guards carefully split into two teams of five and walk to either end of the long corridor. Even if he took advantage of the sudden release from his previous occupancy, they would have plenty of time to see whatever plan he could come up with before it even got close. Worse, he could only target one team. The other would be able to raise the alarm before he could even get within sight of any exit.

Closing the door – and noting how there was a handle on the inside to let himself out – Yusei observed his surroundings again. There was a thick bed to replace the padded section of the floor he had been resting on, complete with an actual duvet and two pillows. A small room in the far corner was still closed. Limping slightly as underused muscles slowly woke back up, he fumbled for the handle and leaned heavily on it as the door swung open into another surprising area.

A small bathroom lay inside. Toilet not built directly into the wall but just embedded enough to make it clear that prying anything off to be used as a weapon would be too much effort for the average prisoner. Same with the sink except that it was wooden panelling underneath. Easier access for any maintenance work to be carried out. A few sturdy kicks could probably shatter of a piece large enough to be used as a weapon but then he would have to deal with the splinters. It was strange. They had taken incredible precautions to avoid any chance that he escape yet put him in a room that could provide adequate materials for an escape attempt. Peeking inside a leather bag beside the sink, he spied an electric razor, general toiletries and comb sitting in neat little pockets.

Observing the benign rooms, Yusei fiddled with the razor, flicking the button on and off again as he listened to the strong buzz. Not only had they included a working shaver but everything seemed to have been provided. It was like a modest hotel room had been built directly into the prison. He had heard about such rooms, used mainly for powerful people momentarily inconvenienced by the justice system. They were held in these places until bail was arranged and they could return to their lives of luxury. What he couldn't understand was why he was being transferred from the inescapable cell to this far nicer one.

Hearing the door quietly click open, he leant back to see into the first room. "Say anything and I'll kill you." Looking extremely uncomfortable, Akiza tried to preserve her modesty as the guard outside held out a patient hand to take her coat. Underneath it, she wore little more than the short skirt and sports top from years ago in the WRGP. Ducking back into the bathroom, the smartest man alive lost the ancient battle of intellect over instinct as a sturdy blush appeared across his cheeks.

"What are you doing here?" Closing his eyes tight, the brief image began to fester and grow inside his perverted mind. It had been a few years since she had last worn the outfit. Back then, it had been a daring costume and part of the thrilling excitement of the event. Now, it barely fit and clung to her like a second skin. The taut nature of her outfit was only accentuated by the inch-high high-heels that she had carefully balanced all the way to The Facility in.

"Shut up, shutup, shutup _shutup_ _ **shutup**_." At that exact moment, Akiza was extremely glad that he wasn't looking. The full-body blush she was undergoing made it difficult to distinguish where her clothes started or skin began.

"I've died." Trying to rationalise the situation, Yusei leapt for the only conclusion that made any sort of sense to him. "I've died and I'm being punished for all my sins." Exactly what sins that he was being punished for was uncertain. He had clearly passed away in the endless internment in his cell far below the ground.

" _You're_ being punished?! _I'm_ the one standing out here **half-naked**!" An exaggeration to be sure. Almost before he had dived back out of sight, Akiza had lunged for the thick blanket on the bed.

" _ **Why**_ _are you almost naked_?" In an effort to stem the growing tide of images in his mind, he was trying to catalogue the items in the bathroom by average molecular density. It was not going well with the fear that Akiza was drawing any imaginative inferences on the fourth word.

" _Because it was the only way to get to see you!_ " Sturdy hands grabbed his shoulders and Yusei instinctively opened his eyes. Even though the blanket was short, it concealed more than a daring summer dress and he found himself about to look her square in the eye. Not that part of his brain wasn't trying to look her in the other set of eyes. As it were.

"And I'm glad to see you too." Wrapping both arms tight around her, Yusei made sure that his head rested atop her own. There was strong will, there was removing temptation and there was the wisdom to know which to choose. For a long minute, they just held each other and swayed slightly as his legs struggled to stay upright.

"That tickles." Squirming like an overstuffed burrito, Akiza peered up at him with scarcely veiled irritation. "Why do you have a beard?" Stroking the short whiskers, Yusei adopted an air of arrogance and wisdom.

"I think it reflects the true depth of my intellect." Another glare from his friend detailed that it did not reflect his intellect unless his intellect was significantly smaller than he made it out to be. "Okay, I've been kept in a cell the whole time. No weapons or opportunity to shave. It's escape-proof, designed by a team of the smartest people the government couldn't find." One of those self-criticising looks she hated crossed his face.

"Was this team lead by an idiot with spiky hair?" Seeing the tremble in his legs, she aimed him toward the comfy bed and gently slid down beside him.

"It might have been." Smiling slightly, Yusei covered his tired eyes. The light in his other cell came from a bioluminescent surface and never stopped. It had been designed for the worst of the worst. Killers, war-mongers and scientists gone mad (which happened unusually often). If they had tenacity enough to be a concern, they were placed in the cell without any furnishing beyond the embedded loops for chains right beside the padded section of the floor that functioned as a bed. It was technically a war crime to leave a person in there for more than three days but Yusei had waived that right in order to create the basis of a 'compliant prisoner' defence. It also meant constant pain to his eyes, an inability to think coherently for long periods of time and the strange taste of yellow if he stood up too quickly. "How are you holding up? Sleepless nights fretting over me, tearfully looking at old pictures with Hoshi curling up on your chest for company?"

A stabbing pain in his foot reminded him that Akiza was still wearing pointed heels. "We're making some headway. Every watchlist in the world has you right at the top, experts in all fields are flying into New Domino. Trudge is pulling every string he can reach and Mina is actually getting something done." Men tended to think in straight lines. Women knew how to get around the rules without breaking them.

"Any clue yet on what they think I did? Tell me it wasn't those parking tickets I was contesting." Holding his hands, she noticed the minute trembles coming from within. Despite the brave face, she knew Yusei was scared deep down. Even if Yliaster had started it all, the full might of the legal system was on their side now. All the cards were stacked against Yusei and he had no idea what game was even being played.

"Something to do with the SRC. Every time we make any headway, a new phone rings and demands that we going through the proper de-classification paperwork. It's not much, but it's a start." It wasn't much at all. Thousands of projects went through the facility each year and the director had unrestricted access to all of them. "Trudge is trying to get you moved into police custody. Because you weren't formally processed, he might be able to place you in holding for a couple of days." Lawyers from all corners of the government had crowded to weigh in on that one. Last she had checked, each side was rotating out new faces every few hours to constantly keep a finger on the slow pulse. "Luna's contacted a bunch of lawyers from around the world. They've been really helpful." Many of them had offered to fly out before being fully clued in on the situation. After that, Luna had kindly let them off the hook.

"Is there anything we can do for you?" At some point in the update, Yusei had closed his eyes to better absorb the information but seemed to be on the verge of falling asleep. The last time that he had been with her, it had been a sound night. They couldn't take the risk that it wouldn't be a repeated miracle.

"Hmm?" Struggling to keep his eyes open, he offered a tired smile. "No, you've done plenty. I think I'll just have a shave and go back to my cell." It seemed perfectly normal to him, as if being in prison was the same as some obscure business conference he was being forced to attend.

"Let me." There wasn't much argument to be had. Several days tied upright had left his leg muscles extremely weak and the thought of standing before a mirror for minutes at a time was daunting. Nipping to the small bathroom, Akiza grabbed the tiny electric razor before shuffling closer to him on the mattress. Turning his head with careful fingers, she engaged the clippers against his face and began moving them in gentle strokes.

"How did you even arrange all this?" Taking care not to move his facial muscles, he carefully studied her eyes. It might very well be the last time he saw such compassion and he didn't want to waste a single moment of it. "The rooms and the meeting?"

Not completely gone, the blush returned in full force and Yusei raised an enquiring eyebrow. "Somebody started messaging me yesterday. We don't know who. Hush," Seeing the warning about to come, she headed it off quickly. "They did us a favour. Like it or not, they're the only reason I was allowed in here." Reserving judgement for later, Yusei quietly sat and pointedly waited for the rest of the story to unfold. "Well, they managed to give us a strong enough case to convince the warden to let me in." Not 'one of us' or a lawyer but 'me'. Already displeased with a new person becoming involved, Yusei began to grow outright suspicious.

"Oh?" It was enough to make her blush anew as the hairs on the corner of his jawbone were carefully lopped off. Like a woman shaving her ankles, most men often struggled with the sharp corner.

"I don't know how they even thought of it." She was wittering now, trying to avoid the awkward truth of the situation. "And it apparently relates to the IA2 form that the SRC has to let us live together." Eyes widened as the pieces connected inside his mind. Akiza continued to skip around the exact words as she carefully sliced off the crude beginnings of a moustache.

"Akiza," Swallowing hard, he tried to ignore the blood pounding inside his ears. "This isn't a..." It was a tough word, an impossible idea. It was also a cross-breed of two extremely basic rights with one being the right to cohabitation and the other... "Please tell me that this isn't a _conjugal_ visit?"

"Yusei," Enough burning was happening in both ears that Akiza was worried she might actually have an aneurysm if Yusei continued to focus on the point. "Don't forget who's holding the razor." Scraping down his neck with surgical precision brought the clippers right over his pounding jugular. "Choose your next words carefully." A single slip could easily carve a bald line across his skull. Wouldn't that be dreadful?

"I think you missed a spot." Their averted eyes met briefly in the middle of the bad joke and it was impossible not to laugh.

"Here," Shifting from one side to the other, she began careful work on his right cheek. "Almost finished." That gentle buzz smoothed down the fine lines on his cheek before clipping them off. "Do you have any idea why you've been arrested?"

"Trudge said that it was under confidential international law. I know a few." Of course he did. Yusei never went into a situation without an idea of what was happening. There were any number of projects that had required he read exhaustive lengths of material. As a responsible scientist, he always made sure to take in as much information as possible. "I've been thinking about every project that's gone through the SRC. None of them should have raised this sort of reaction. Has anyone else been arrested?" If any other members of staff had been disappeared, it would help give him a clue as to how he would be charged.

"Everyone else is accounted for. We're all working on getting you out of here." Moving the clippers down his cheek, Akiza was surprised when Yusei caught her hand in a gentle grip. It was intense but restrained.

"There are a few people I need you to contact. You can find them at the SRC. And, you guessed it, they are all lawyers." Something about the way Yusei was speaking seemed more careful than risking a slip to any listeners. Racking her brains as best she could, Akiza tried to figure out what game he was playing. "While I'm in here, there are some protocols they will need to invoke." That last word stuck out as particularly strange. A timid thought raised a hand from the back of her mind and voiced a suggestion. "But make sure they don't try and use every little clause. Oh, and I'm told I can't directly confer with all the lawyers, just one. Final word." Winking to indicate that he had given her all the clues he had, Yusei let a dribble of that stern control slip from his form. It had been far too long since he had found the opportunity to relax. It was too dangerous to spread word of his condition in the confines of the prison and meditation could only take the edge off. He could hardly request access to an undefined piece of technology without raising more alarms.

"Is there anything else that I can do?" Pulling his head down against her shoulder, she felt him take a deep breath in. It wasn't difficult to think that he was fighting back tears.

"Ask Pessimal to keep following his investigation. Make sure Din doesn't flip out. Feed Hoshi if she stops by." Strangely, the cat hadn't set foot at Poppo Time since he had been arrested. Even without being inside, she seemed to know that he wasn't there and follow. "My Deck is in the safe in my office at the SRC. Take care of it. For me." That tiny pause between the 'safe' and the 'for' gave him away. Yusei was aware that there was a chance he wouldn't be getting out of this one and wanted her to have it if events failed to improve.

"Only if you promise to talk to your brothers once this is all over." Holding his hand in one of her own, she tried to keep the tone light. "They're not exactly being careful." Crow was risking the police opening his old Sector Security file for a closer look if he didn't stop going to so many shady places. "Or professional." As for Jack's approach of shouting at anyone he could, he had revealed some exploitable avenues yet also closed up a few in the process. "And don't forget about the twins. Leo and Luna have been doing some good work." Even if it had amounted to little. The sheer effort the pair had put in was rivalling the more mature members of their family.

"Are you sure?" Smiling at her, he could feel just how much more hope filled the room simply by Akiza being there. "Who knows what I might confess to? Maybe I give up on contesting those parking tickets." Bravely taking the thrown blanket directly to his face, Yusei was enjoying being able to smile for the first time in days.

"Hey, Yusei." Posing provocatively in the doorway, Akiza threw him a salacious wink. "It was nice seeing your eyes pop out like that." Then she did up the coat as one of the guards escorted her away.

Once the group had quietly moved Yusei back to his original cell, he was reattached to the wall and quietly evaluated by the guard. "Have a nice time?" It was obviously a man under the helmet. No lady would ever have been so crass.

"It was nice to have a proper conversation again." Looking up at the slot in the door, Yusei reached up to rub a hand along his jaw. "And a shave." Running his thumb over the curve of his jawbone, it brushed against a small patch of skin nestled in the very tight corner on his neck. A few bristles still lingered to prick the pad as it passed over. In an otherwise unmarked area, it was just enough of a reminder as to where gentle lips had pressed against the skin.

Outside The Facility, a crowd of reporters was already starting to form. Someone inside the prison must have seen Trudge or Akiza and put two and two together. Luckily, Trudge knew the sort of duplicity that would occur and had a patrol car waiting. "Where to?" Sliding into the passenger seat, Akiza took the left seat as Trudge had the police officers start driving without waiting for detailed instructions. "Back to Poppo Time?"

"No." Using her sleeve to wipe away the makeup, Akiza checked her reflection in the phone she had asked Trudge to hold onto. "Take me to the SRC. I think that I have a plan." More accurately, Yusei had just given her the first step in what was hopefully the right direction.

* * *

Legal departments tend to demand huge offices, expensive salaries and assistants for assistants for the assistants. Yusei had given everyone a small stipend to buy as large a desk as they wanted for the shared room, salaries in line with how much work they put in and how long they had been practising law, refused more than one assistant unless working with other members of the legal department and promised them cases both easy and fiendishly difficult.

As with most of the SRC, people hated his ideas until they actually tried them. Nobody had left under bad circumstances. In fact, the legal department had the lowest turnover rate of the entire

"Who has the files on last year's tech conference in Sweden?" There were probably some legal proceedings ongoing with the SRC. Patent claims, parking tickets, territorial disputes with the city. Judging by the unified motions going on around the room, nobody was working on them.

"Yamada had the international reports last." Given ten minutes and the right forms, all other cases had been put in legal limbo. Everyone was focused on the real issues. "Does anyone know what happened to the WHO files?" Even peripheral work with the World Health Organisation would require the strictest background checks. Finding those reports would go a long way to building up Yusei's reputation.

Edging her way through the chaos took longer than Akiza thought possible. Every other body that she bumped into either piled files into her arms or dragged them out of the stack. At one point, she found herself suddenly balancing a tray of dirty coffee mugs before they were whisked away into the mess. Eventually, she arrived at the one office on the floor which didn't have paperwork piled to the ceiling.

Kamikawa was a relative rarity amongst the SRC upper management. Old, latecomer to the SRC, male. Most department heads had joined in the first eighteen months and were late-middle-aged at most. To quote one unfortunate junior lawyer 'Only dirt is older than Kamikawa'. It had been unfortunate because Kamikawa had been practising law longer than than the much younger man had been alive. By the end of the shift, he was looking for a new job.

Rules were clear – professionalism was foremost when working under the foremost legal authority in New Domino City.

"Mr Kamikawa?" The aged figure was in an intense discussion with several of his colleagues. A conversation that ceased as soon as she interrupted. All the faces recognised her as soon as they saw her face. Yusei was their client, they had examined every detail of his life. Professional faces instantly went up. Akiza didn't take it personally and ploughed on ahead. "I managed to speak with Yusei earlier today." Those words changed Kamikawa's face from professional distance to political. Only a slight inclination of his head was needed in order for the room to instantly empty except for the two of them. Carefully closing the door, he walked back around his desk and indicated that she take a seat as well.

"And this was under what circumstances?" A certain level of detachment was needed to work for the boss, a lot more was needed to avoid jail. If he heard something that would incriminate the case, it would technically not be heard.

"I'd rather not say. But completely legal!" Colour rose in her cheeks at the memories. One politely disinterested face pretended not to notice any discomfort. "He's holding up for now but doesn't know anything we don't." The first half was superfluous information which he instantly discarded. The second was carefully filed away into that internal case file Kamikawa kept inside his head.

"Hmm. That is unfortunate." Unlike many lawyers around the world, this one was not instantly convinced of his boss' guilt. Few people could earn trust and respect like Yusei could. Kamikawa had simply been hoping that he might have been able to provide some sort of insight into why he had been arrested.

"There was something that he said which I think you might be able to help with." At least, that was what she was assuming. Abi had been unable to draw on any useful information while she was on the way over. "Yusei said 'Invoke clause one. Final word.' Does that mean anything to you?" Although using the phrase 'final word' may have just been a clue to uncovering the real meaning of his message, Akiza knew that he knew she would have been smart enough to figure it out without the hint. At least, she would be telling him that was exactly what he had been thinking.

"Too vague to be of much use." Mulling over the words, it was impossible to pick out one particular meaning from the millions of potential ones. Clauses filled every single legal document. Each _section_ of each document could contain clauses. Each _paragraph_ of each section could include clauses. "Although, there is one trick that Yusei taught me which might be of use." A perfectly bland look appeared on his lined face. Legally blank. "Are you willing to testify that those are the instructions he gave you?"

"I am." Why she would have to testify to something her boss had ordered was unclear. She also didn't like the slight glint forming in one eye either. "What trick are you talking about?" There was a long list of psychological tricks that she knew Yusei employed. Akiza had taught him a few of them when learning them during her degrees.

"Come with me." Softly padding over to the door, he stepped through with Akiza standing just inside.

Getting a room to quiet down is no easy feat. People are unlikely to follow orders when shouted. The louder they are shouted, the more likely they are to resist. Kamikawa didn't shout. He just glared at one person until they stopped speaking. Then he did it to three more people. Once the crowd figured out what was happening, they quickly fell in line.

"New orders. Dr Fudo wants us to use a clause. We don't know which clause or which document. Just 'clause one'. That's all we've got." Unlike when Kamikawa had asked Akiza, nobody checked for verification. The grand-fatherly figure was known for never being wrong. "Find every document that you can. SRC, legal, contract, the damn vet if that's what it takes." If Hoshi ended up somehow saving the day, Akiza would start checking with Crow for medicine and Jack for science. Also the sky for flying pigs. "Go on. What are you waiting for?" Files were dropped, phone calls cancelled. They had a single goal now.

"Good trick." She could identify the subtle undertones of comradeship, organisation, efficiency and total obedience that Yusei used with his brothers. "I didn't know that you'd met Yusei's brothers."

"Oh, I haven't had the pl... experience." Meeting Jack or Crow could very easily be classified as a pleasure, with Crow's honest praise and Jack's highly polished skills. Meeting both at once was never going to end well, especially if they were arguing. "Dr Fudo answered a phone call to them once. Hearing him convince them was simply masterful." Exactly why both Jack and Crow had been on a shared phone call to Yusei was a secret that the lawyer would never disclose. He was a man of his word and had promised Yusei that he would never reveal the exact situation.

"Is there anything that I can do to help?" Quietly gesturing that Akiza rejoin him in the privacy of his office, Kamikawa shut the door again to close out the sounds of frantic research. Even with such a vague direction, the group was able to make extreme progress now that they had a specific clause to root out.

Carefully looking over the young doctor, Kamikawa laid the mask of political indifference aside as he noted the bags of exhaustion hanging beneath each eye, the hints of fatigue present in her face and the way that no amount of makeup could distract from the growing bloodshot whites of her eyes. "Go home." He said the words in the most gentle tones he was allowed to use in his professional capacity. "Get some rest. I've been staggering my teams since this began. Even if you sleep for the next three days, there will always be people working on the case."

"You promise to let me know as soon as you have a lead we can use?" Picking up that same mask from earlier, Kamikawa once again became cold and indifferent. Yet if Akiza looked carefully at those wise and learned eyes, she could still make out the faint twinkle of genuine compassion. Everyone at the SRC was part of Yusei's family.

"As soon as we have a viable plan, we will, of course, be moving forward. Various members of staff will be informed in due course." Heads of departments, members of security, a few people who might be needed to be called upon as expert witnesses. Akiza was almost certainly in the list somewhere, just not very high. "As I said, go home and get some rest. There will be an update by the time you wake up."

In the wild chaos that existed on the other side of the door, it was impossible to tell who was in charge of anything at that time. Everyone was shouting orders, assistants were being run ragged and members of staff who had never met found themselves suddenly sharing desks that had previously been separated by sets of locked drawers and strict shifts. With everything that was going on, it was easy to miss the one person who was neither a lawyer nor been in that room even an hour as they silently turned and walked away from the mess. There was no reason to stick around now that Akiza had given the department a goal. Events were clearly proceeding well enough without the need for additional help. Besides, there was other work to be done.

* * *

Once she had given the SRC legal department their marching orders, Akiza had taken Kamikawa's advice and returned home to Poppo Time. It had been almost difficult to get back inside as it had to leave. With no comment about where she had been going, the reporters had been less pressing to try and get a response on where she had been after coming back. The welcoming committee was sadly thin on the ground when she arrived.

"Any luck?" Shivers had given ways to severe trembling but at least Musume had managed to get rid of the stutter. Since the puking incident when Akiza had uttered the words 'conjugal visit', she had also managed to avoid any sort of ethereal outburst.

"How are you feeling?" Avoiding the dangerous questions, she focused on the care of her most unusual patient yet.

"How much longer until I can have more medicine?" Until they could figure out what she was suffering from, Akiza was treating Musume with the sort of medicine that could be bought in any pharmacy.

"Another two hours." They were currently undergoing a round of paracetamol to treat the return of her fever. Musume's symptoms were all over the place. At least the drugs seemed to be keeping her fever in check this time. "Any pains, nausea?" Crow had been careful enough to plan ahead and Musume had vomited into a bucket.

"Pounding headache. Eyes hurt." A more colourful description would have been delivered if anyone else had asked. As both a respectable doctor and her mother, Akiza received a more polite overview of Musume's symptoms. "Been drinking more water than a bathtub and pissing it straight out the other end every couple of hours."

"I want you to try and drink a little less for now." Grabbing a thermometer from the side, she stuck it in an unresisting – yet still surly – mouth to gauge Musume's temperature. "Processing that much liquid so fast could be detrimental to your recovery." Grinding her teeth slightly, the thermometer rattled past Musume's pointed gaze. "Just be grateful that it's one for your mouth." Eyes widened slightly just before the calm beeping announced that a result was ready to be delivered. "Hmm. You're doing a lot better. Where are Jack and Crow?"

"They went out. Crow's hitting up a couple of guys over on Satellite and Jack went to ask Carly if she's heard anything." The two redheads exchanged a glance. If any of them found out that Jack had been off enjoying himself while Yusei was locked up, it wouldn't end well for him. "Luna called. One of her lawyers said that establishing a profile could help. She and Leo are tracking down anyone that Yusei helped." Despite her personal vendetta against the scientist, Musume had to admit that the loyalty Yusei held was... inspiring. "What about you?"

"I got some legal advice of my own. Shower, bed, sleep." Tugging loose the belt on her coat, Akiza carefully stepped into the bathroom. Peeling the outfit off, she stepped into the shower and let the tension of the day wash from her shoulders. Walking to The Facility had been a nerve-wracking exercise with only the sturdy figure of Trudge there to keep her calm. Actually talking to Yusei had almost brought tears to her eyes when Akiza realised how scared he was. Now that they at least had the beginning for a plan to help Yusei, it was acceptable enough for her to unwind that tense control she had used to keep everything in.

It took thirty minutes before she felt emotionally stable enough to step back out and wrap a thick towel around herself. Gathering up her outfit in one hand, she tucked it under one arm as she stepped out into the corridor. Musume was still on the couch, leaning back in a futile attempt to keep her sinuses from clogging. With both eyes closed to filter out the intense pain, Akiza could look at that carefully calm face and see the similarities to her own. Refined cheekbones from her mother, the shape of her father's eyes. There was some of Musume's father in there, in that alertness which kept her aware of dangerous surroundings. It was just sad that the entire past was turning out to dangerous territory for her.

Four rooms existed at Poppo Time – one bathroom, three bedrooms. After eight years in a coma, Musume had no qualms about sleeping on the couch. It was also easier to reach the toilet when she could run in a straight line. Crow had come back expecting to use his own room so Akiza had simply cleared out two drawers for him to use and been thankful her sheets had been in the laundry when Yusei had been snatched up from the SRC. As for her own sleeping arrangements, she was currently staying in the only unoccupied room.

Slipping the towel over the corner of the cabinet to dry, Akiza crawled into the gentle sheets of the bed. If she breathed in deep enough, it was just about possible to smell the lingering scent of Yusei as she drifted off into sleep.

* * *

Only forty hours after her visit to Yusei, Kamikawa was handed a single-page folder without looking at the deliverer. Forty-one hours after Yusei had been visited, an unusual injunction was filed. The SRC congratulated themselves and words soon spread that hope was afoot. Kamikawa personally called Akiza to deliver the good news himself. The celebrations lasted for about two hours.

Then word came back that a trial was being convened for the following Monday. In the world of legal timelines, that was practically five minutes warning. Nothing had ever gone through so fast before. Even though they had just landed a major blow, Kamikawa and his staff knew they had only just begun what could be a long and brutal battle to rescue their friend.

* * *

 _ **And I bet you were expecting a smutty lemon chapter. Shame, shame I say! And extra shame for those who read without leaving a review!**_


	29. Cheaters Prosper

Ulaanbaatar was an oddity of a city. In terms of populace, it would barely qualify as a large town in some of the more grandiose countries of the world. Compared to the rest of Mongolia, it was a titan that supported fully half of their people. Totalling just over 1.5 million people, it was the result of urban sprawl over several generations. As with everything in the tiny country, the community was close-knit. It wasn't unusual for parents and close friends of the family to set the younger generation up with businesses.

John had taken some time during his stay in Erdenet to get to know Ganzorig. Despite being a grumpy old man – or maybe because of it – he appreciated the company trying to learn about his country. Most people just wanted to drop by and see the sights before leaving again for more 'interesting' places. John had volunteered his assistance during one evening to help repair a malfunctioning washing machine. That is, he had held tools while Ganzorig swore, smashed pipes together and told stories of his family.

After John had endured an uncomfortable ten hours – after the bus broke down for two more than he had been anticipating – on the rickety transport, he had stumbled off the bus into the harsh light of day. Sleep had not been impossible on the midnight run, just extremely difficult. He could be gently drifting off one minute only for an extra lump, bump or dip in the road to send his head rattling around to knock against the window or headrest so worn out that the wooden support was poking through.

Based roughly in the middle of the city, the bus station let him see a few identifying landmarks. After that, it had only taken an extra hour to reach the right part of town. John had spent time in just about every country there was to visit and rarely found the sort of practical goodwill that pointed him in the right direction on the rare occasion that he went down the wrong street or took a poorly chosen turn. Not long after he had arrived in Ulaanbaatar, John arrived at his temporary accommodation for the duration of the stay.

Looking up at the sign on the front of the building, a cheerful smile filled his face while he entered. "Good morning." It was only possible to smile wider. "Do you have a room available?" Feet hastily rocked from the desk as the young man behind the counter tried to turn off the television on the corner of the counter.

"Got a couple spare." Reaching for a ledger under the counter, the man behind the counter was getting unsettled by that smile. "How long were you thinking of staying?" Taking the more positive outlook that maybe it would be a short stay, he was unprepared for when John decided to tell a story.

"Not sure yet. I was in Erdenet recently. Thought it would be for a few days, spent a couple of weeks." That smile was really unsettling. "Found this great place to stay, a place called _Otgonbayar_." Recognition started to dawn in the eyes looking out from the other side of the counter. "The owner had this great story about how he named it after his nephew when he was born. Even went on to help him set up a place in Ulaanbaatar. Of course, he named it after himself." Adjusting the bag strap over his shoulder, John's smile finally made sense. "Call me John."

"Uncle Ganzorig mentioned you." Flipping through the books, the young man finally returned the smile. "Thanks for helping him find that card. It was a gift from my aunt before she passed away." Without children of their own, the pair had doted on Otgonbayar. His happiest memories included the pair of backup parents. "I've got a room I can set aside for next month. Not the best view but it's got a decent bed and warm water. For what you did for my uncle, I'll even give you the family discount."

"What's that, an extra ten percent?" Smiling to indicate that he was joking, John wasn't going to rob the young man of much needed capital. He had too much integrity for that. "How about you tell me if anyone comes asking for me and we call it even?" Asking for such an arrangement usually indicated that someone was on the run. Otgonbayar stealthily reached under the counter for the bar he kept for emergencies. "Trying to avoid the media." John had noticed the twitch of discomfort. "There're a few Duels coming up in the city and I'm trying to keep a low profile. Knowing that I'm coming might let my opponents figure out strategies to use against me. Works both ways though. If you can tell me who shows up, I can make strategies against them instead." When it was fully explained, it sounded a lot more routine than first appearances.

"Oh. Right." Otgonbayar let out a slow breath. "Room 216." Because his uncle had vouched for John, the young hotel owner was willing to extend the benefit of the doubt. "If you want to know a few good places to eat, I can hook you up. I'm fairly connected around here."

"Otgon," Taking the key in one hand, he unconsciously abbreviated the young man's name down to a more familiar term. "Your uncle was right about you. I bet that you'll be running a string of hotels one day."

"Yeah, right." Looking around at the depleted surroundings, Otgon had no doubts about his place in the world. He may run a decent enough hotel for Mongolia but that didn't mean that he could hold a candle to the more popular parts of the world. "Just waiting for that one rich investor to decide to drop a pile of money on my desk."

"Make sure to ask if there's a spare going." Looking down at his travel-worn clothes, he could see the seams on his shoes were in need of repair. "Know of any good sports shops nearby?" Most people had at least one pair of shoes for formal occasions. Life on the road had taught John that it was possible to get away with a nice pair of sports shoes in the right colours. Cheaper, more comfortable and usually better to have on when events went sideways.

"A couple." Pulling some outdated leaflets from a drawer, he marked some spots with a grubby pencil. "The chain stores can get really expensive if you're not careful. It might be better going to the sort of shops that aren't on this map." John knew the ones. Usually, for members only, most of their stock freshly fallen off the back of a truck.

"I'll keep an eye on my budget." Feeling a buzz come from his pocket, John pulled out his phone. An address had arrived to match the time he already had for that night. "But first, I'll drop my bag in the room and have a nap. It's been a long night." Heading for the stairs, John hoped that Otgon wasn't exaggerating about the bed. Anything softer than a plank of wood was welcome just then. Next time – John decided as he began the slow process of climbing the stairs – he would just wait for the bus.

* * *

Approximately ten minutes after he was meant to arrive, John finally turned up at his secret rendezvous in one of the grimier parts of the city. Depleted buildings lined both sides of the dank alleyway. He had anticipated having to investigate each one but rows of garbage bags had been propped against many of them. Only three doorways were unobstructed and just one was freshly disturbed. Walking over, he pounded the thick metal a few times and waited of a response.

It came in the form of the door opening just enough for a stern eye to glare through. "Yeah?" The words came out in such an aggressive tone that they were barely intelligible. "Who're you?"

"John. I'm here for _the event_." Exactly what event he was meant to be participating in had not been mentioned. Keeping the exact subject unspecified worked well enough for most criminals. Saying that you wanted to attend 'an event' could mean anything from a bachelor party to an underground sex club. John could only hope that the friend of his friend hadn't just directed him to something too shady.

"... You're late." Momentarily closing the door, there was the sound of chains rattling before the hidden figure was able to open it a bit more fully and look both ways down the alley. "Nobody follow you?"

"Of course not." Only John, whoever had told him to be there and anyone that they might have told knew were John was. Practically nobody. "Can I come in now? It's cold out here." Ulaanbaatar – like the rest of Mongolia – existed in often direly cold conditions. It was not a country to avoid taking a jacket to.

"Sure." Edging aside just enough for John to squeeze in, the doorkeep quickly fastened the door against prying eyes. "Come on." Shifting a heavy workbench over to act as a block while he was away, the veritable mountain of muscle lead the way towards a flight of rickety stairs. "Why are you late? Traffic hold you up?"

"I suck at directions." Gingerly testing one of the steps with a cautious foot, John felt it sink uncomfortably low before catching on something. "This place has seen better days." As the pair moved down another few steps, he was able to glimpse a dimly lit room unfolding around them.

"What, were you expecting something more fancy?" Cruel laughter echoed around the space and drew a few eyes. About fifty Duellists from all walks of life were in the spacious room.

"Less. Last place I saw like this had stuff crawling from the walls." At least this underground space had concrete between the Duellists and the dirt. And a few crates to act as tables. Definitely nicer than some places John had seen.

"Standard Duelling rules apply." Limping slightly down the last few stairs to avoid a patch of puke, the bouncer seemed at ease in the disgusting nature of his surroundings. "Whoever's already waiting gets first move. Pull off whatever moves you think will give you an advantage. Best cheat wins, as long as they don't get caught too much."

"Don't worry." Noticing how the crowd was centred around a single table, John was glad that he had shown up late. It meant that he wouldn't have to bother with the small fry. "You won't catch me cheating."

There were only a few moves left in the Duel. The player sitting directly in front of John was twitchy, nervous. An endless array of mistakes and poor moves was coming out as cards were fumbled, pockets literally turned inside out to find hidden advantages and a Trap actually played sideways. "Why don't you just quit before you hurt yourself?" John had heard people with that sort of laugh before. They were rarely nice people. "Does anyone else want to try their luck against me?" Although there were three other Duels still going on, all players were obviously just going through the motions. Nobody had any chance of winning against this man.

"Latecomer just got here." Rumbling with the voice of authority, the bouncer cleared a path with presence alone. "You okay with letting him have a try?"

"Of course." Wiping the board clear of his opponent's cards – the ultimate insult to a Duellist – the proud victor was feeling unbeatable. "Take a seat, my friend. I'm Nugai, the only one who will be moving on once we are done here." Tucking his cards back together, he began a snazzy show of shuffling them back together.

"You can call me John." Setting his own Deck on the table, he opted for far more mundane methods. "Nice technique. It lets you keep combos together by shuffling in larger blocks." Noting how the thumb and index finger always stayed close together, he was already picking up on how big a cheat Nugai was. Just like his playstyle, his cheating methods were loud and proud.

"What of it?" Noting the much slower and more thorough approach John was taking, Nugai could only sneer. "And what do you call that? The 'granny shuffle' or something?" Laughing nosily, he failed to notice had John was focused on another voice that only he seemed able to hear. "Let's get this started." Setting down their decks, they each drew cards.

"Sorry, Nugai." Keeping his own hand concealed from those about him – in case Nugai was working with a partner – John was unaffected by the posturing. "You just picked up an extra card. House rules, you have to return it." Looking up at the impassive nod the bouncer was sending him, Nugai slowly returned the card to his deck again.

Silence spread outwards from the intense Duel as it rapidly progressed. No fancy tactics were being carried out, neither side was calling cruel names. John just sat there with an easy smile as combo after combo unravelled on his side of the field. Nugai could only sit there and flinch as John would carefully and ceaselessly call out all of his underhand tactics as they happened. Until that Duel, he had been the obvious winner for the illegal tournament. Now his opponent had come out of nowhere and stolen a rare opportunity away from him.

"No!" Swiping away his cards in an outraged blow, Nugai somehow failed to connect with any of John's cards. "There is no way that you can be spotting all my moves! You have not cheated this entire game. Has anyone seen him cheat?" Dark mutterings surrounded the pair. The entire point of the underground tournament was to find those Duellists who were both good in a Duel and better at cheating at one. To be accused of playing a fair game was more deadly than not being able to prove against it.

"You've been watching me the entire time?" Still smiling across the table, John slowly reached into his sleeve and pulled out a Pot of Greed. "Can you tell me when I hid this one away?" Nugai flinched. He had no answer for that. "And you overlooked how I straightened my cards before each draw. Really, you gave me so many openings that it's shameful to even admit." Running his fingers down the spines of his cards, John stopped at an invisible mark. "Now, I'm just _guessing_ that this happens to be an Equip Spell." Pulling the stack away, the hiss of a disappointed crowd had him check. Monster. "Sorry, _this_ is the Equip Spell." Picking up the card from the new top of his Deck, John applied it to the pile. True enough, it was an Equip Spell.

"Damn you!" Nugai tried to leap across the table in a wild attack as the opportunity of a lifetime slipped through his fingers.

 _ **Wham!**_ Without any sort of warning, a powerful fist swung through the space and sent him flying back over his own seat. "You all know the rules." Speaking with the authority of a man who could simply destroy anyone who claimed otherwise, the bouncer seemed unfazed by the turn of events. "Best cheat who can still win gets to move up a rung on the ladder. Everyone else has to wait for another opportunity to come along." Sensing that it would be best that they not argue, the crowd melted away in drips and drops until it was just John, a groaning Nugai and the veritable mountain of muscle still at the table.

"Why do I think that you're a bit more than the bouncer?" Unusually polished teeth exposed themselves back at him. Not smile, just a show of perfectly intact tools evolved for tearing meat apart. Even the hopeless people still clinging to the edges of the room shivered.

"You're good at this. Not perfect," Letting the card slip down by one had been a smart move on John's part. It made his trick seem almost perfect. Just in need of a few more refinements from more talented and practised minds. "But good enough. We could do with some guys like you." Holding out a torn piece of paper, the overseer waited until John took it. "There's another couple of rounds to go first though."

"Sounds fair." Reading what was written on the paper, he committed every line to memory. "Guessing that this isn't the only bracket you've got running. Best of each faces off, last one standing gets the opportunity." That massive fist looked like it was winding up for another swing. "That's how I'd do it. Keep shuffling things around as well, only let the winners know where to go next." Waving the piece of paper – marked with a time and address for later in the week and in a nicer part of the city – between them, John was suddenly away of just how many eyes were following it. "A few more rounds?" Tearing the paper into as many pieces as he could, John scattered them through the air. "Sounds fun." As the fallen parties scrambled to piece together enough of the shreds to find suitable information for each of them to use, John stepped out of the mess. If the group had stopped to think, they would have realised that working together would have allowed them all to find the next location instead of failing to find it for themselves alone.

" _It was foolish to taunt them like that._ " As he walked down the empty road, a smile filled that handsome young face. Being on the road for so long might have downsides but it also brought some amusing times. " _You know that word will spread._ "

"That's the plan." Using an overflowing dumpster to spring into the next alleyway over, the precaution shook loose at least one silent follower. "No point in trying to get inside unless they'll take me seriously." Pausing at a crossroads, he checked about him in the pretence of looking for vehicles. "Besides," Noting that it was safe enough to continue his journey, the good-natured man crossed the road as clouds gathered far above. "What's the worst that can happen?" Like Akiza would come to realise nearly eight decades later, there are certain phrases that should never be uttered.

* * *

 ** _Cheaters never propser. Nor do people who don't want to leave reviews. Save yourself by writing a nice one!_**


	30. Monday: Baseline

It wasn't just the trial of the decade but possibly the trial of the last century. Not long removed from claiming his place as King of Games, fate had thrust the world-renowned professor and professional Duellist straight into the clutching arms of the legal system. Surely it was impossible though. Yusei Fudo couldn't _really_ be guilty of breaking international law, surely? He was the sturdy pillar that New Domino leant on, overcoming his early years in the lawless Satellite and defeating the corrupt Rex Goodwin before revolutionising the global energy system.

Hold on, the Satellite? Didn't they kill each other there? What about Yusei's history of stealing and assault charges? Come to that, they never did find anything of the Goodwin brothers. And how did somebody so young get into such a powerful position? Maybe it was related to Lazar suddenly upgrading from the Director's assistant to being the Mayor.

All in all, public opinion was obscure at best, polarised and downright ugly in some areas. Had it not been Trudge gently securing the cuffs about his wrists, there was little doubt that Yusei would have put up more resistance and taken refuge in the unconquerable confines of secure SRC facilities. When Akiza and his brothers had raised the alarm, it had been a rallying cry heard around the world.

As some of the most famous Duellists to have ever lived and with Akiza working at the SRC, the number of supporters quickly moved from the dozens into the low, mid and finally higher hundreds. Yet even with an uncountable horde of volunteer legal experts from around the world scouring for information, nothing could be publicly found on Yusei. It was as if he had simply vanished into the grey corridors of the government without a single trace of paperwork. Only the SRC legal department would be specifically told about the upcoming trial. Everything else was left to rumour and conjecture.

Unless – of course – a member of the legal department (such as the head) quietly passed along information to Yusei's closest friends and families. Information such as the obscure clause that he had asked them to invoke. When the trial was to be held. Information of that nature. Nothing directly about the nature of the case. Just simple and (eventually) public details.

Fully regrouped – bar their absent member – the assembled Team 5D's were clad in their best official garb at City Hall. Getting there had required they each take separate taxis and swapped cars midway more than once. A few of Trudge's favours with the ranks of drivers had freed up enough vehicles to make it impossible for any outsiders to figure out which car they were in until it was too late.

"How did Yusei pull it off?" Against his sibling and professional rivalries, Jack was relieved that the group had pulled off another miracle. No matter what it had cost him. Even if it meant having to wear a suit. At least it still remained made to be clear if Red Dragon Archfiend was going to be handed over to their anonymous source.

"He invoked the Oath in Five Articles." Blank looks came from three people. Only Crow had actually looked up the document after leaving education. It came with the territory of temporarily being part of Sector Security. And maybe it had a little to do with being someone who spent their spare time trying to keep up with a brother who held enough degrees to write an extra name. As for Akiza, she had been filled in by Kamikawa once the injunction had been filed.

The Oath in Five Articles – also known as the Charter Oath – was so far back in history that most people weren't even aware of the significance. First put into law far back in April of 1868, it is composed of five clauses that had started the movement from a feudalistic caste system into a more democratic one. Schoolchildren might touch on it for a brief few minutes in a history lesson but not since. Even Yusei only knew about it because of his many sleepless nights that had turned into studying.

Translations were getting a bit spotty between context and dialect but the first clause was glaringly clear: ' _Deliberative assemblies shall be widely established and all matters decided by open discussion._ ' Unbelievably, it was still very much a part of the legal system on that day as it had been in 1868. Rooted so deep in the law that it was easier to disprove the moon, nobody could deny its weight when invoked. And Yusei had just called for an open trial. Every law that had come since was based on the system that it formed the basis of. There were exceptions, counter-laws, obscure precedents and dusty books detailing dull cases yet nobody had ever dared to try and tarnish the founding basis of all Japanese law.

On second thoughts, it would be easier to disprove _gravity_ than legally revoke the Oath in Five Articles. And – even though being arrested under international law – Yusei had been arrested in the nation of Japan by Japanese citizens in the service of a Japanese police department. The Oath in Five Articles applied. People had tried to take Yusei away into the dark corridors of classified international treaties only to find themselves suddenly being dragged into the harsh light of day where everyone could see them.

"Knock knock." When the group had shown up at a time too convenient to be a coincidence, Trudge had been called. Nothing technically prevented them from being in City Hall at any time but after Akiza had simply walked up to the receptionist desk in her pant-suit and boldly asked which room Yusei Fudo's trial would be held in, they had been politely asked to move to less public areas to continue the discussion.

A group of uniformed officers had instantly arrived to whisk them to a private room on the second floor. Their attempt at subtlety had been ruined when Jack had asked if he was being detained or if he was free to go. It was a trick that had originated in America and soon spread to the rest of the planet. Unless a citizen was being charged with a crime, they usually had the right to walk free whenever they wished. Luckily, Trudge had been on-site to prevent any escalation and escort them all to quieter surroundings before stepping out for a few minutes to have the police seal off all entrances to City Hall before the reporters could arrive.

"Trudge." Standing at the front of the group, Akiza was still filling in for their imprisoned leader. "What a coincidence to run into you here." Leo had been very explicitly told not to utter a word while in the building. Even the most innocuous sentence could be vitally damaging to Yusei's legal case. That he hadn't been told anything about the case didn't occur to him.

"When I agreed to help with your ridiculous plan, it was because you promised me that you wouldn't cause trouble." All that Trudge had been told was Akiza might have found a way to talk to Yusei. The exact nature of her plan hadn't been revealed until they were already midway to the facility. Then they had asked for help getting to the trial without being caught. Now they were just causing a headache. "Walking into City Hall and asking where the trial is going to be held seems to be a funny way of not causing trouble." They were staying away from the question of how they had heard about the trial. Legally speaking, only Kamikawa and his team should know.

"How does it go?" Crow kept a polite look on his face while inside he seethed. "Something about 'Widely established and open discussion'. It's hardly an open discussion without people there to discuss it." Now that the main event was at hand, there were no longer distractions for Crow's emotions and he was working hard to keep them in check. People had sent one of his oldest friends to arrest his brother before trying to take him away forever. It was unwise to cross him right then.

"Fair enough." Looking at the five other people in the room, Trudge weighed his options. Two. A bit of shuffling and losing another few of his dwindling supply of favours could afford him maybe two. "Who wants to take a ride with me?" Moving through the list of events, he rounded off the small list of five down to the two he could afford. "Jack, Crow?" Taking Akiza back to the prison again was like asking for trouble. Leo and Luna should be spared the horror of visiting a jail. The only people he could take were Yusei's brothers.

"Just remember to bring back the same people you're leaving with." Chilly silence greeted Akiza's frosty warning. "Because it took us a week to arrange a trial for someone held under international laws. Two idiots will be a lot easier." Three wounded looks were sent her way. It might have been true that Trudge wanted to lock up the former criminal and his partner's former crush but not enough he would be so reckless as to do it without a crime to pin on them. At least, not when so many people were already watching.

* * *

The three-vehicle convoy cruised into a heavily protected garage as secure doors closed up behind them. "Nice digs." As the gates slid down and locks engaged, Crow was taking note of the heavy security. Back when Goodwin had been in control, a good sneeze could have got through the perimeter providing the guards hadn't already taken a few notes for an extra break.

It was ironic that one of the brains behind the renovations was currently on the other side of several sets of doors separating the garage from the rest of the building. Even if a crew with welding torches managed to breach the weak point, it would take five minutes to get through even the first pair. Plenty of time to get a response from the guards inside and the police outside.

"Was it really necessary for us to sit in the back?" Hunched over in the tight confines of the trunk, Jack and Crow hadn't been so close to each other since they were barely old enough to walk.

"No." Sliding himself from the comfortable front seat, Trudge walked around to the back of the car and smiled at the cramped pair. "I just thought it would look funny." Unlocking the boot latch, he half expected one – or both – of the pair to punch him in the face. "Welcome to The Facility." They had stopped in a tightly marked lane about thirty feet from a set of thick metal doors set into the unmarked concrete wall. Midway between them and the door was a thick red line painted onto the floor.

Warden Ishi was standing off to one side, carefully watching everything. As long as the prisoners were on her side of the red line, they were her responsibility. Once they stepped across it, Trudge would take the fall for whatever happened to him. She wanted to make sure that everything went smoothly. Up to a point.

"Warden." Nodding to the motionless figure, Trudge received a single grunt in reply. Nothing would distract the warden from her important business. "How long will it take?" A phone call ahead should have cut down on the time they had to wait.

"Five minutes." Unfortunately, this warden was a stickler for the rules. Nothing had been set into motion until the cars had pulled into the garage. It was far too easy to fake a call and fall prey to bad orders. No, Ishi had waited until she had personally seen Trudge in the car before radioing her waiting guards to start the process.

While they waited, the unmarked police cars emptied out their passengers to stand in three distinct clumps of personnel. Four officers on the right, four to the left, three others flanking Jack, Crow and Trudge. Taking their hint from the escort about them, the two brothers stood in perfect silence. After four minutes, the sound of buzzing alarms and slamming doors came from the other side of the red line. Exactly five minutes after Trudge's entourage had entered The Facility, the outer set of doors opened to admit an advance patrol of four guards. Another set followed the prisoner with two guards still in their positions on either side of the heavily restrained wheelchair. As the guards arranged themselves opposite the police officers, Jack was the first to break the tense silence.

"You look like shit." Taking the insult in shackled stride, Yusei carefully looked his brothers up and down without saying a word. If seeing them on the other side of the line was a surprise, he was keeping it concealed.

"Better than wearing one of those monkey suits." Trudge was dressed in his regular office garb while Crow looked like a small butler wearing a tight tie which was hiding the fading line from Paris perfectly. Most impressive was Jack, sleek and resplendent in his tailored white suit that matched his form perfectly. At least he had been convinced to avoid using the hat. "Going to the ball?"

"Here for your arraignment." Noting the sheer volume of guards around his brother, Crow was begrudgingly impressed. Tighter security meant they viewed prisoners as a higher threat. Sector Security had never given him more than four. "We've been betting on what you've been caught doing."

"I say wormholes, Crow thinks that you created a parallel universe where you rule an advanced society of lizard people." Waiting patiently as he was unbound from the wheelchair, the clearly exhausted man felt the shackles on his ankles could have been done a bit looser.

"What would you say," It was probably safe enough to joke a little by that point. "If this all turned out to be a trap to lure Crow into willingly walking right into The Facility?" As in on cue, the guards turned to look at the scrawny ginger who looked unthreatening in his little suit. "The shackles are just to give you a fair fight." Raising his hands, Yusei diffused the tense situation with a reminder of just who was actually under arrest.

"Well, you've only got ten guards here." Unbelievably, it was Jack who came to the defence of his brother. "So either you need a lot more or we should be getting a move on." Aggravating an array of angry guards was hardly the smartest move. Thankfully, they would only be escorting Yusei as far as the police van and wouldn't have an extended opportunity to retaliate.

"We'll take it from here." Trudge should have realised from the moment that he asked Jack and Crow to come with him that he would regret the company. One was a barely reformed criminal, the other had the same amount of politeness as the average rock. "Guys." Stumbling to a point midway between the prison guards and the police escort, Yusei almost lost his foot before Jack and Crow scooped him up under each arm.

"Feeling a little under the weather?" Being on the road for competitions meant that neither of the travelling brothers could always keep up their workouts. Being up all night every night usually gave Yusei plenty of opportunities to keep himself in pristine shape. After a week locked up without room to move or safe enough precautions to sleep, his muscles were starting to grow lax and his eyes struggled to stay open. Even Jack was feeling sorry for him.

"None of the guards thought about trading coffee for a confession." Wordlessly waving one of his most trusting lieutenants over, Trudge had thought ahead for the most perfect gift he could bring. Unscrewing the thick cap of a chunky bottle, he poured what was closer to sludge than liquid into the cup. "Trudge." Taking the warm brew in both hands, Yusei enjoyed the second happy moment that day. "I could kiss Mina for telling you to bring this." Laughing at their commander's displeased look, police officers quickly filed into the lead and follow cars.

"Need a hand getting in?" Crow could feel the shakes needed simply to stand upright quaking through his brother's body.

"Not a chance." Scalding his throat with the brew so thick and potent it could probably wake the recently departed, Yusei forced his legs into remaining steady. Handing the cup to his brothers, the manacles on his ankles forced Yusei to rely more heavily on his arms than his legs to lever himself up into the car. While leg exercises had been difficult, doing a few push-ups hadn't been hard and he was able to slide into the seat with relative ease.

With Crow taking the seat on his left and Jack on the right, Yusei was sandwiched directly in the middle of the car. Trudge seated himself in the front passenger seat, the best driver in the service took the wheel and a pair even seated directly behind the inmate in the sort of uncomfortable collapsing seats that only worked from an engineering point of view.

"Just one question," As the convoy pulled out of the garage in a careful manoeuvre, Yusei laid his head back and rested his eyes for the second time in eight days. "Is there any chance of me getting some proper food before the trial?" Prison nutrition was designed to keep inmates alive but not happy. A full week of food that was chemically designed to be unusable as any sort of ingredients for a weapon had left him with a craving for literally anything that had even come close to being on a farm. Plain bread, a raw egg, a bowl of rice.

In fact, Yusei would even be willing to attempt some of Jack's cooking if nothing else was available.

* * *

Until that day, Jack, Crow and Yusei had differing opinions on the word 'mob'. Jack had resolutely stuck to his egotistical idea that it meant a large gathering of (usually his) fans. Crow took every opportunity to correct his brother and would inform that a mob was when people went around breaking stuff. Yusei – being the only one who went and checked - knew that it could simply mean a crowd.

After they saw what was thronging down the street, the three brothers suddenly realised they all had equal validity. Crowding down most of the street was the third largest gathering of people they had ever seen. And – in a feat of mathematical astonishment – they were a large crowd (point for Yusei), most of them were quietly rooting for a lengthy prison sentence for stealing their hero's glory (point for Jack) and – judging by the occasional scream and shattering of glass – were already well on the way to breaking stuff (point for Crow).

"Nope." Leaning forward in the seat as far as seatbelts and both muscular police officers would allow, Yusei stretched towards the driver. "Take us back. I'll go quietly." After Akiza's pointedly public declaration that Yusei Fudo would be on trial at City Hall, word had spread like wildfire. First to colleagues, then close associates, then it became public knowledge.

"You'll go whichever way I tell you." Yet even Trudge was getting unnerved. A subtle touch of police instinct was telling him that an angry, violent crowd was trouble. An even more unusual touch of precognition told him that another would be in the near future.

"Wow. I always thought that Jack would be the first burning effigy." As horrifying as Crow's observation had been, it was also accurate. Being paraded above a more aggressive part of the crowd, a crude resemblance of Yusei was softly flaming.

"What upsets me most," Seeing several people wishing him that sort of harm on him was not unusual. Religious groups had their own department to address hate mail, scientific institutions had another and fans tended to spam the cute clock shop in Poppo Time. "Is how large they made the head."

"Told you that you needed a haircut." As the armoured truck carefully inched through the crowd, they tried not to stare at the burning head. Jack's comment aside, it was a strangely dedicated recreation. "Don't worry, the police have to cordon off a certain distance."

"Do they really?" That was certainly news to Trudge. He was more interested in the slight 'pop' coming from the bursting effigy. What really interested a cop about mob mentality was how they managed to forget that standing under a burning item means that some fire might get on them. "Why?"

"For the press." Even for Jack's callous nature, it was a low blow. Nothing irritated Yusei like having a microphone smashed in his face and questions screamed in his general direction. As they approached the narrow avenue which lead to the front doors of City Hall, he tried for a desperate deal.

"Trudge, take me to a station and I will confess to all the unsolved crimes." In the heat of the moment, it was the best bargain that he could think of. "Even _Crow's_." There was a long list. Even though Sector Security had witnessed Crow committing the crimes, lack of actual evidence had prevented the following Police Department from actually prosecuting him for them. Considering his services to the city and how long ago they were, nobody was investigating the thick stack of cold cases.

"No deal." What Yusei hadn't realised was how much paperwork it would entail. And failed justice. Definitely failed justice. That was what Trudge was focussing on as the car slowly pulled to a halt outside the mercifully open steps leading towards City Hall. "Any last words?" Waving the guards to remain seated for another few seconds, he tried to give his friend some precious extra time.

"What are my odds of a last-minute jailbreak?" Jack laughed, Crow laughed, Trudge laughed, the guards laughed. Yusei laughed in a sort of 'can we be serious now' way. Nobody wanted to face an uncertain trial with charges they hadn't even been told. "Okay then." Tugging his overalls into a more respectable position, Yusei twisted the manacles around so that they were less restricting. "Only because I had nothing better planned."

Trudge radioed the other cars to establish a beachhead and police officers piled out to form a protective barrier around the main vehicle. Both officers in the rear of the car were let out first, followed by the two in the front before finally opening the door to let Jack, then Crow out. Shuffling across the seat, Yusei gracelessly slid out into a flurry of shouted words and camera flashes. Supported once again by his brothers – under the deception they were simply providing another layer of protection from the unruly crowd – they made swift progress towards the main doors of City Hall as questions were shouted their way.

"Yusei, what do you have to say to your fans?" "Yusei, will you be giving up your titles?" "Can you tell us what's going on, Yusei?" "Is it true that you broke international law, Yusei?" All these questions and many others went unanswered.

It wasn't that Yusei was unfriendly. Some might call him guarded but nobody who really knew him would call him unfriendly. He just objected to random people trying to forge an instant connection and drag out personal information. For now, patience was the best option.

Once the waves of eager reporters had been ignored and bloggers with access had been turned away, out came the most deadly enemy of the public figure. Journalists. The difference between mere reporters and proper journalists was that reporters simply repeated what people already knew. Journalists found out the reasons.

"Dr Fudo, why are you only accompanied by your brothers and not members of your staff?" Although technically overstepping by calling them 'his' staff, this question was an easy opening salvo.

"Because I don't mind throwing my brothers out as a distraction for the crowd." Nobody in the entourage so much as blinked. Depending on the situation, Jack and Crow would either be fodder for the mob or physically carrying Yusei away at a dead sprint.

"Why are you wearing chains, Dr Fudo?" Besides jangling, drastically limiting the range of movement and starting to chaff quite badly, the chains had little practical application.

"Well, I was arrested without cause, held without trial and denied contact with the outside world." Deadpanning for any cameras present, he fixed a direct stare towards the journalist. "Call it protest."

"What are the charges being brought against you, Director Fudo?" Fixing his most serious face, Yusei turned to the waving microphone. Although he disliked that particular title – because it never failed to dredge up memories of the corrupt Goodwin regime – whoever even knew it applied was almost certain to explore all the facts.

"Good question. Nobody's told me yet so let's find out together." More photos were snapped and dozens of questions overlapped as the media unravelled the implications of his answer.

* * *

For the most important trial of the century, the largest room in City Hall had been cleared, checked, double-checked and triple-checked for anything from additional fittings to suspicious packages planted by angry members of the mob outside. With an information blackout making rumour the best source of facts available, anyone could be carrying out drastic measures.

A two-tiered row of benches had been added for the special occasion. Fifty people could sit on the rows with enough to move through their notes. It wouldn't be comfortable but every one of those seats would be used before the day was out. Regular public seats remained at the same amount they started at. Nobody was going to be undertaking extensive renovations just so that a few extra citizens could sit on chairs for hours on end.

Kamikawa and most of his department were lined up along a table down in the arena before the tribunal itself. When faced with the entire legal department of the SRC turning up for the proceedings, the city had refused to let in anyone who couldn't fit around a single table. They hadn't counted on the unyielding commitment most everyone at the SRC felt towards their leader. Only one table was allowed so the highest trained lawyers simply sought out the smallest possible seats and crammed in on every side.

When a guard had taciturnly asked about their client, the lawyers just as taciturnly replied the table was for them and not their client. Yusei only needed a chair to sit in while he was asked questions or asked questions in return. As for his support staff... Well, the _lawyers_ were sitting on a lengthy table down in the pit.

Filtering into the room on a basis of 'first-come, get dragged back out by the bigger crowds and replaced before they even saw the courtroom' members of the public were filtering in. While the crowd outside could be loosely grouped into teams either for or against Yusei, neither camp was exactly close-knit. So it was the single largest collective coming to monopolise the seats. Erratically dressed scientists were clustering in to fill every possible corner while a few nervous members of the public found themselves in enemy territory. It would have been ordinary territory except that two of Akiza's favourite crowd of misfits had joined together into a single line of tight faces and making it clear that anyone going for a guilty verdict was most definitely not a friend. Something about personalities pooling together meant that seeing Luna sitting on one extreme made it possible to sense the polarising figure at the far end making an astute observation in his usual way as the panel of judges and experts filtered in down below.

"That whore." At some point over his years of working at the SRC, Din had been extorted into getting a suit that fit. With the sturdy work of several tailors, three therapists and the threat of being permanently kept from the library, a unique outfit had been carefully stitched together for him. It had been worn exactly three times, including the final fitting, use at a polite function where he had insulated the entire senior staff in a single insult (earning both admiration and hostility from all departments) and that day. Other than the slight layers of dust from years of being neglected on a shelf, it looked fairly impressive. There was even a new pocket square for the occasion, freshly stolen from someone in the crowd who had tried to force him aside. City Hall had good medics on hand to whisk the offending party away.

"Who is she?" Carefully walking across the open area of the floor the SRC table was on, a willowy blonde was measuring out the space. Dramatic turns require careful preparation. They didn't just happen.

"Anita Cassidy. Best prosecutor in the city." Wearing the suit like a second skin, she had all the warm approachability of a porcupine. "That's not who I'm talking about." As the cameras and photographers set themselves up in the lowest row of public seats, there was little time left for comments before events really got started as figures began to fill the two benches.

"He is." Raising one arm like a massive pointer, Koharu indicated the ageing man taking the seat in the centre of the lower row. "Takashi Hiraguchi. Minister of Justice." With everyone on the two curved tiers arranged about and behind him, Hiarguchi was the obvious leader of the pack. Senator Izinski had mentioned him to Akiza a few times. In simple terms, he was to law what Yusei was to science.

"Probably just here for the cameras." As the daughter of a political expert, Akiza knew that some people did whatever they could to gain even the smallest modicum of press coverage. She was also aware that a high ranking minister was unlikely to be that needy.

"Yeah. Probably." As functioning human beings with the ability to realise a bad turn of events, they all knew just how likely the Minister of Justice showing up to a routine trial was. "About as probable as that bastard turning up by accident." Din was already pointing out the second largest threat. One of the faces just a few seats down from Hiraguchi seemed less neutral than the others. A scowl was set onto it as the owner glared towards Yusei.

"Oh no." Set out along her left, the reassuring presence of her friends from work offset the stupidity of her friends from outside work. At least, they had been reassuring. Right up until Koharu had let slip that alarming little bit which neither the city's best prosecutor or Minister of Justice had been unable to invoke.

"What?" Everyone to Akiza's left was suddenly leaning forward in an attempt to peer around her.

"How can I put this diplomatically?" Scratching her head with the robotic hand was a backwards approach for Koharu. Instead of risking moving the hand too hard and crush her skull, she kept it frozen in place as her head moved back and forth.

"Imagine Yusei was an arrogant streak of piss who spoke French." Din's mental image wasn't that far off the mark. Crude yet accurate, just like many of his analogies.

"Dr Undercliff is a high ranking scientist at CERN who keeps in regular contact with Yusei and some others." Every time that Din broke the ice with even colder statements, it gave Koharu the opportunity to compose her thoughts. "They keep each other apprised of dangerous science, sort of unofficial watchdogs." Her tone indicated a problem and she hurried on before Din could fill the break with expletives. "Certain parties have expressed the motion that Yusei wouldn't have risen to his position so quickly had it not been for his work on the Fortune Mainframe. Since Undercliff is about the same age, he is frequently used as an example."

"Like I said." Glaring at the tan face seated on the lower row, Din risked unleashing his wrath. "An arrogant streak of piss who speaks French." Seated beside him, Koharu laid a gentle grip on his shoulder and locked it into place. Unless Din could lift and throw the prosthetic form, he wasn't going anywhere.

"We've already got a couple of those." Ignoring Jack's jab at his expense, Crow leaned back and looked down at the carefully bland face in the ranks of other unnoticeable people. It had a pointedly unpleasant expression. Like professional smugness. If it hadn't been for the suit and bench putting an official slant on appearances, Crow might have thought that it was vindictive.

"Any word from the little voice in your phone?" Whoever was on the other end of the line seemed willing to help. Maybe there was something that could be used to their advantage.

"Nothing yet." Against all probability, she was holding out hope that it was somehow Yusei on the other end of the line. That sending them help and support from inside a prison was not beyond the scope of his skills. Except that he had clearly been surprised to see her when she had visited The Facility. Even Yusei wasn't that good of an actor. With all the legal might they could muster sitting down on the battlefield, part of her hoped that she wouldn't have to rely on another surreptitious conversation with their mystery contact as Hiraguchi tapped against a microphone and a call for quiet silenced the public stands.

* * *

"This tribunal has been convened to assess the suitability of Yusei Fudo in regards to his position as the Director of the New Domino Scientific Research Centre." Hiraguchi had the sort of dusty voice which sounded more suited for a history teacher. "Due to the sensitive nature of his position, it was deemed too high a risk for him to be alerted in advance. As the facility also deals with international projects, the utmost discretion was used when taking Mr Fudo into protective custody while the members of this panel could assemble." It was a decent enough explanation for everything that had gone on. Even Yusei was impressed at how believable it was. For all he knew, it might actually be the truth.

"Excuse me." Already putting himself on the social back foot, Yusei dared risk the displeasure of his tribunal by rising to his feet and cutting across the team of prosecutors. Even the short walk to the courtroom had managed to get his legs back into good enough order to stand upright for a few seconds.

"Sit _down_." One of the faces on the bench hissed the words across in Yusei's direction, garnering some assenting murmurs from the group.

"Unless you plan on violating rights of speech, I _am_ still entitled to an opening statement." Bright orange jumpsuit aside, Yusei suddenly seemed like the much more seasoned practitioner of law. "Look, if this is about those parking tickets I'm contesting; there was no sign, the car is exempt from tickets due to being a restored antique on loan from a museum and it had also decided to embarrass me by literally shaking half the wires out and made me push it for the last two miles." Laughter came. Everyone loved a humiliating story they could relate to. Especially when a celebrity was involved. Yusei even joined in as the world laughed at how even the King of Games could endure the mundane activity of getting a ticket. Akiza remembered Yusei picking her up in that sleek car when she first returned home. It had been returned to the museum shortly after. His payment had been using the relic for a short time. Just to make sure that everything was in working order.

"If it's not about the tickets," And all smiles dropped away. "I protest my lack of preparation to these proceedings. Until today, I was given no exact charges to prepare against, limited contact with any and all persons and neither assigned or visited by legal counsel." Troubled mutterings grew about the public onlookers as the list of underhand tactics continued to grow. If found guilty, nobody would care but right then, they were disgusted. "It's going to make it incredibly embarrassing when I win." Rampant applause was almost worth the angry verdict to disregard the opening statement.

Cassidy took the floor as Yusei gently swivelled from one side to the other in his chair. Looked like errant laziness, worked like exercise to put his legs all the way right again. "We'll be starting with a few standard questions to establish some key facts." That was certainly fair. "Answer truthfully and with either 'yes' or 'no'. Do you understand?" That sounded fair. But only sounded.

"I will answer all questions truthfully and to whatever extent is necessary." Nobody on his lengthy table of legal experts was speaking up to correct him. That was a rare sign from a lawyer that their clients were making the correct legal choice. "Or is there a reason you only want broad answers?"

Disgruntled looks appeared up and down the rows. Of course they had reasons. Asking 'Have you ever taken SRC property away from the premises' would encompass everything from pens to classified files. Answers in the affirmative would make him seem untrustworthy. Denying it would establish him as a liar once they pushed for specifics.

"Old habit. Think nothing of it." Right. Old habit from the archaic polygraph test. Yusei had tried having it replaced with far easier and more reliable devices from the SRC only to have the government repeatedly shoot him down. Ironic that they could have used those same techniques to prove if he was lying.

"Is your name Yusei Fudo?" At least that was an easy start.

"Yes." Resisting the urge to push for his titles, Yusei kept to the point. Listing them all would take too long anyway. He wouldn't want to sound snobby.

"Are you the Director of the New Domino Scientific Research Centre?" At least they had thought one title was important enough to be on the record.

"Yes. We call it the SRC for short." It was unusual to hear the full name aloud. Just about everyone used the acronym.

"Have you ever been physically, verbally or otherwise abusive towards any member of your staff?" Images of Din flashed through assembled minds. Images of stupid people flashed through Din's mind.

"Some members of staff have unique... eccentricities." Eyes were starting to turn to where Din was still sat quite calmly. "One, in particular, suffers from aggressive outbursts. The SRC attempts to provide a safe and stable environment for everyone. Even if that does mean splitting up the occasional squabble." People were actually straining to see Din in calm refusal to look back. "But no, never abusive." Finally looking around at the faces staring his way, Din slowly started to smile. People had nightmares about that smile. They stopped looking.

"Have you ever been nude, semi-clothed or inappropriately dressed around other members of staff?" Coughed mutters and reddening ears gave away hints of Yusei's embarrassment. Notes were instantly made regarding the question.

"Only with good reason. Emergency decontamination, certain charity events. A minor fire." Which had conveniently burned only his shirt and lab coat until he was practically topless. Pointed words had been exchanged with the people involved. Almost pointed enough to risk the previous question again.

"Have you ever intentionally or knowingly broken the law with research conducted at the New Domino Scientific Research Centre or 'SRC', as you call it?" Cassidy was being a bit more tricky now. Government projects were always a bit shady. Free from some laws, bound by extreme secrecy everywhere else.

"Not without first being granted permission." It was a risky move. Stuff like testing pursuit drones was nearly impossible unless first given leave to break the speed limits. Such an excuse also let him slip by without mention of more sensitive projects.

"Are you aware that the SRC operates under both national, international and foreign laws?" Ha. Cassidy was now openly using the acronym. A small win for their side. Oddly dressed scientists up and down the rows smiled and nodded to each other. Progress, no matter how small, was still progress. Even getting just an inch closer to winning was still an inch closer.

"Of course. I'm the one who arranged for it to work that way. It allows scientists from all over the world to come and share knowledge." And skirt certain laws from either category by claiming to operate in another camp. It was a legal nightmare and a practical dream.

"Have you ever attempted to use SRC technology, facilities, property or finances for your own gain?" Minor alarms started going off in Yusei's brain.

"That's a rather broad question." Huddling together with his legal team, they spent several seconds in conference before he turned back to Cassidy. "As the SRC rents out use of its facilities and I have previously rented them own for personal projects, technically yes. All legal and above board." Weighing the odds, he decided to mar his image slightly. "Including one time when my request was denied."

"Your own staff turned down an application from you?" Cassidy tried to stop herself but she couldn't pass up the potential opportunity. Maybe there had been an ethical concern.

"Apparently, I lacked the qualifications to research self-cooking noodles. Too little bio-chem, not enough molecular gastronomy." Which was the field of fancy cooking. A lot of people didn't even consider it a proper science. World-class chefs were known for having violent arguments over the subject.

"Can you explain the basis of your reasoning for the first twelve sets of amendments you recommended to the fire evacuation plans?" As Cassidy delivered the question, she jotted down a note on her pad before scratching out the line above.

Whatever the final goal was, this tribunal would clearly be so thorough that they – and the world – would end up privy to every aspect of his life. With mounting horror, Yusei realised that he could very easily be lawyered to death from hour after hour of tedious questions. He almost wished he was back in his inescapable cell. Pouring another cup of that thick sludge-like coffee that Mina had sent him via Trudge, he sat back and prepared himself to endure the monotonous tedium which would last the next ten hours.

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: The law is nowhere near as effective as it is about to be made out to be.**_

 _ **Lawyers: ye be warned. Everyone else: review?**_


	31. Tuesday: Testimony

The second day of the trial of the century looked set to be just as boring as the first. Word had spread amongst the SRC staff to try and let some members of the public to attend the trial. It would be far more difficult to make prove his innocence when the public was only able to watch the proceedings through the tint of media outlets. Even though Yusei was still being kept in The Facility every night, Hiraguchi was now allowed to spend an hour of each morning and evening talking with his client and advised the strategy at the end of the first day. Even though he was more concerned with making sure his staff were able to see that he was alright, Yusei had begrudgingly bowed to the more experienced legal expert.

This time, Team 5D's was not the first to arrive. Several others had been queueing up outside the courtroom overnight in order to try and claim better viewing seats. A peculiar mixture of scientists, citizens and reporters were lined up outside the massive room in clusters and cramped circles of muttering figures.

"Coming through, 'scuse me, watch yourself." Pushing, sliding, elbowing and outright shoving a few times, Jack was forcing a path through the rabble with the twins sending out apologies as they followed behind Akiza and Crow. "Look, Yusei's coming!" By the time heads turned back and the stampede stopped, they had secured places right beside the vast doors with all four guards glaring at Jack. Their job was to keep the peace and maintain order outside the courtroom. His antics threatened to ruin all that. "Good morning." Taking the glares in stride, Jack would have snapped them in half without a bad thought if it meant getting even one person to believe Yusei was innocent.

"Nice to see that you're not causing trouble today either." Looming up from behind them came the reliable figure of Trudge, scowling at the group once again. Not to be deterred, Jack looked around for someone else he had a longer history with and came up short. Actually, he had wanted to come up short. What he came up with was nothing.

"Where's my favourite midget mayor?" Not one to care for political ramifications, Jack noted the absence of Lazar in his usual way. "He was pulling a fast one yesterday as well."

"Got caught up in some contractual obligation from way back." Trudge looked unhappy to once again having to fill a political position when he would have far preferred to stand at their side instead. "KaibaCorp decided to dig up one of their time capsules to celebrate the new King of Games. Apparently, the old Domino City mayor was a greedy bastard and wanted his cut of the fame when they dug it up. He just forgot to check the timetable."

"So where is Lazar today?" Even a novice in archaeology would be able to understand that a preserved time capsule from less than a century ago shouldn't take more than two days to dig up. Leo may be many things but he wasn't a complete idiot. Nor – surprisingly – a novice in archaeology.

"Do I look like his secretary?" Grumbling as the endless questions fell on his purview, Trudge continued to watch the various members of the tribunal filter into the room. Once all the seats were filled, he would have to go down and join the ranks of police guards making sure that Yusei didn't try to make an escape. "I've got KaibaCorp breathing down my neck for not letting him out to attend the opening and Lazar handing me the blame for him being able to be here. Whatever his business is, he's making sure that I have to handle the fallout." With Mina being the Chief of Special Investigations, she was making sure that her deputy wasn't missing out on his share of work.

"That must be dreadful." Seeing the final members stream into the room – Undercliff and a few unfamiliar faces – Akiza glanced up at Trudge. "Taking the blame for something that you didn't do." Taking the hint, Trudge suddenly realised that he had somewhere else to be in a hurry. Specifically, he had to go and loiter in a doorway as the final members of the tribunal settled into place.

Hiraguchi carefully spread out a few pages of notes across his portion of the lengthy desk as silence fell. "The SRC has taken lodged multiple requests to provide character witnesses for Yusei Fudo. Frankly, it would take several weeks to fill every request. We have therefore selected a few of the more prominent members to provide their reviews of his character. If there are still any requests afterwards, we can revisit the issue." It sounded like a fair deal. Depending on just who they had selected, it might even be an advantage. "First on the list is," Peering through a pair of glasses, he carefully examined the top name. "Dr Din."

Up in the public stands, Akiza carefully buried her head in both hands as an achingly familiar figure clambered towards the podium set in the middle of the space. Now she understood why he had been absent from their line-up when securing seats. Whispers of panic and fear spread throughout the SRC staff present. They knew the sort of danger that Din presented when under the calming authority of Yusei's control. Hopefully, his being nearby would keep Din from going too mad.

For the first time that anybody could remember, Din had actually made an effort to be presentable. Many combs had died to straighten the tangles from his beard. Tailoring had been stretched to the limits in an effort to create a suit suitable for his unique posture. Instead of attempting to order his hair, a simple piece of string had pulled it all back and knotted the lank strands behind his head in a crude ponytail. Clambering up the step to the podium, a whispered conversation with a guard soon ushered in a stool he could clamber atop to reach the limits of the microphone.

"Good day." Forcing the anger from his voice, Din sounded professional and courteous as he shifted a leather satchel off his back and onto the stand before him. "My name is Dr Din and I have been at the SRC for almost four years."

"Dr Din." Rifling through notes, one of the more political figures seemed to have done background research. "Before your employment at the SRC, you were arrested on multiple accounts of vagrancy, public intoxication, a suspect in several assaults and twice held for psychiatric evaluation."

"Equal parts to blame between myself and society." In the few months she had been working with him, Akiza had come to know Din more fully than most people would be comfortable with. Enough to know that his tone of shameful remorse was nothing more than a ruse. "It is a sad fact that rare is the mind to see past my disfigured body to the person inside." That much, at least, was true. "Many of the acts I have been accused of stem from how people have mistreated me and I struggled to control my aggressive reactions." Squirming in his chair, Yusei was also trying to find the hidden angle.

"And the SRC believes that you would make a good character witness?" Disrespecting one of Yusei's staff would normally be a good way to incur his wrath. Considering that it was Din about to tell the people of the world what sort of person Yusei was, he was torn in two directions about having him forced from the stand.

"That's correct." Alarm bells started going off inside the defendant's head and he tried to think of a way to stop the proceedings that didn't involve jail time as he heard Din's tone. "I have here," Pulling open the leather flap, the squat scientist withdrew several manilla folders that managed to give off waves of official vibes. "Several documents that can scientifically prove,"

"Don't let him read them!" Unable to take the stress any longer, Yusei had actually jumped to his feet.

"Can you give a reason why not?" All eyes turned to the guards trying to wrestle him back into the chair. Considering he had already been treated severely harshly just because of an accusation, Yusei was reacting inappropriately for someone trying to secure an innocent verdict.

"I'm telling you," Held in his seat by several meaty palms, Yusei strained to maintain a correct posture. "You'll regret it." Trying to abbreviate the long history Din had of losing his temper – in explosive fashion – wouldn't be enough to convince the tribunal to stop the most aggravating genius they had ever met.

"Dr Din." Fixing a cool gaze on Yusei, a young-ish man near the middle of the upper row gave an icy smile. "Read everything you've brought with you today. That's an order." Straightening his tie, Din opened the first folder and shuffled it into a position he could comfortably read from. "Any attempt to stop you will be treated as an attempt to hide evidence and the maximum sentence will apply to those concerned." Unable to do anything else, Yusei allowed himself to be forced back into the chair.

"As I was saying," Even from behind his back and across a solar system, Akiza would have recognised that smile Din had when events were about to turn his way. "I have several documents that can unequivocally and scientifically prove several members of this tribunal are worth less than an equal mass of high-quality horse manure." Silence echoed around the room as the faces on the bench glazed and Yusei buried his face in manacled hands.

"Pardon me?" That icy smile had turned sickly as the words finally reached a brain and ground though processes to a halt.

"I would have preferred cow manure." Pulling a pair of glasses from his pocket – Akiza knew they were probably fake – Din perched them on his nose and check a line. "But there have been some fluctuations in the market lately so the worth is variable."

"Of manure?" Whispers were circulating now. A giggle could be heard here and there.

" _Cow_ manure. Of course, I was planning on some abbreviation." That evil grin widened. "But I was ordered to read everything I brought. To stop me now would be an attempt to hide evidence." Hiding evidence would be a criminal offence for anyone on Yusei's team. If the government did it, there would be nobody to directly punish. The SRC would just discredit the entire panel instead.

For three hours, Din waxed scientific and explained how entire departments did the sort of work that company leaders claimed credit for. Automated systems picked up enough slack, a few well-placed algorithms could replace some faces and there was an anecdote about penguins nobody really understood but they were forced to hear all the same. Sitting through it all with an exasperated expression, Yusei Fudo had the unmistakable look of 'I told you so' clear for all to see.

After reading through the entire stack of paper, showing off detailed charts and even trying to bring an actual cow into the hall – quite how he had even managed to get it into the building boggled minds – Din finally drained his last glass of water and relaxed against the thick podium. "Now then," Taking a deep breath, he revealed thick rows of predatory teeth just waiting for a target. "Does anyone have any questions?"

"And what was your point for all this?" Ripping off his tie, Din let his hair down and suddenly seemed a lot more authentic than he had a moment before. Authentic and slightly mad.

"I can categorically prove a lot of you are worth less than piles of... manure." Another word was in the offing but he was being scientific. No court could stop him from using the technical term. "But when it comes to Yusei Fudo, there is no easy replacement. He is mathematically trustworthy, morally steadfast and more intelligent than the lot of you put together. Except for the women." Mutterings came from the bench where only three women for every five men sat. "You ladies probably have an edge." Amused smiles won over half the tribunal in an instant. In her seat, Akiza quickly realised what Din's plan had been all along. Not to simply demean the people trying to imprison their friend but to provide a comparison for maybe the noblest man alive. "So I'm going to ask you just one question: if many of you are unable to manage your own affairs properly, why do you think that you are qualified to judge someone who can?"

Rounds of applause greeted his words. People who didn't know Din clapped. People who did clapped harder. People who feared him clapped the hardest. Very few people weren't clapping. Even some of the faces rendering judgement seemed half-convinced by his words.

"I think." After hours of listening to Din, Hiraguchi already looked ready to call an early end to that day's proceedings. "That we could all do with a short break. One hour should be enough." After the sometimes graphic descriptions that Din had employed – three members of the tribunal had found themselves heading towards the doors in a hurry – a lot of people were looking a bit pale about the face. Even before the doors were opened, there was a veritable stampede to find fresher air.

* * *

As with all the intermittent breaks in the trial, various camps of the SRC group were clustering together in the available spaces outside the courtroom. Keeping themselves near the entrance to the courtroom, Akiza and her friends were waiting when Din came out.

"Nice speech." Smiling down at her diminutive colleague, Akiza felt a surge of affection for him. "Where did you find the time to pull that one together?"

"Last night." Din shrugged as if the achievement wasn't that much. "I had some of the data on hand already after Yusei threatened to have my performance evaluated. So I went ahead and tried to prove I had more worth than him."

"And you used manure as an example?" Despite being complete strangers, Crow had the sort of imagination needed to maintain the upper hand in brotherly rivalries. "Was it so that you could call him a piece of shit?" Looking at Akiza's companion up and down, Din took his measure.

"I like you." Reaching up, he slapped Crow on the back hard enough to knock the wind from him. "Yeah, the idiot works himself to the bone. All that I had to do was look up some of those bastards last night and pull some files together." A large bill would soon be admitted to the maintenance department. Another complaint would also be added to Din's lengthy SRC personnel file due to the three computer systems that he had smashed in his rage before someone had helped him get the information that he wanted.

"One more thing." Crow had seen enough tricks in his time to figure out where the proverbial dove was hiding. But even all the pranks that he had pulled over the years failed to help him figure out the trick this time. "How did you get the cow here?"

"Wasn't me that brought it." Laughing at the confused look on their faces, he swung himself away in the direction of his next targets. Whatever else he might be – genius, madman, political critic – Din was obviously a team player. But where he had got the cow was still anyone's guess.

 _Vrrtvrrt._

Faces stopped smiling as Akiza reached into one pocket to check her phone. Then saw the sort of number that nobody expected to see on their phone. Her own. Another message was waiting. "Guys." Jerking her head over to one side, she had the group hustling around her to both provide protection from any curious eyes and to listen in on the exchange.

 _We have a problem._ Akiza had realised that the texts could be read back as a conversation with herself from the day that she had visited Yusei in The Facility. If anything went wrong, only one of them would be taking the fall. Unless this guardian guide decided to intervene for her as well as they had for Yusei.

" _What problem?_ " Last time this had happened, they had managed to work out an arrangement which had ended with Akiza passing along a vital message to Kamikawa. Then a trial had been arranged which could clear Yusei's name. If they were making contact again, the situation had to be dire.

 _Nobody is checking the new faces._ A few people were different that day from the day before. Nothing important. Just enough to be noticed and filed under the same category of information as the change in weather. At least, until it was pointed out. _This is not a tribunal about suitability. This is not a trial about a legal issue._

" _Then what is going on?_ " So long went past that Akiza wondered if another message was even coming. " _And what will it cost us this time?_ " Getting to arrange the trial had cost them Red Dragon Archfiend. At least the tip towards new faces should be a lot lower.

 _Tell Kamikawa to look closer at the assistants, the new faces. Check who they are working for._ When had her life become one of strange codes and shadowy legal moves? This was worse than when she had been forced to unravel Yusei's strange message. At least it was straightforward, if not clear. _Ask why the ICC would be interested in this case._ No other messages came and Akiza tucked it away again.

"Sorry, no quotes, no interviews." One of the two burly guards on the door was likely being polite because Akiza was a woman. She was willing to take the snobbery if that's what it took to get inside.

"SRC personnel." Noting the card, level of authority it bore and way that Akiza had morphed from a smartly dressed citizen into a dangerously power-dressed scientist with more connections that he would see in a year. "I need to speak with the legal team regarding confidential information." Noting the torn look on his face, she pushed one step further. "Or should I contact Assistant Chief Ushio?" Using Trudge's legal name and title pushed the balance of the inner turmoil towards a resolution.

"... Five minutes." Choosing not to risk the trial on keeping out one of the handful of publicly recognisable SRC figures, he opened the door for her to slip through.

Inside the hall was far quieter than she had expected. Even though they had been watching the trial unfold without speaking, the public observers had made noise simply by being in the room. Two hundred people breathing, shifting position and the occasional whisper produced the sort of background noise that nobody noticed until it was gone.

Taking advantage of the silence, Yusei was reclining in his chair to squeeze a few calm moments of rest before the question could resume. While he relaxed and recuperated as best he could without actually sleeping, the vast array of SRC lawyers quietly shuffled paper, made notes and exchanged ideas.

"Kamikawa." Hustling down the stairs to where the old man at the head of the table, Akiza kept her voice low to avoid disturbing Yusei. "Can we talk?" Tracking her line of sight, the elderly lawyer sighed at the imminent loss of his break. "It's about the case." Of course, he would have to get up and walk now. Integrity would force him to do so. Levering himself upright with the support of the desk, he gently followed her a short distance out into the empty space.

"How can I help you?" Holding his hands in front of his jacket, Kamikawa looked just as alarmed as seeing her again as he was an errant fly. "Whilst I admire your professional skills, I fear that they will have little use here." It was almost crazy how wrong he would turn out to be.

"What's the ICC?" In a second, he went from calm to shocked to on the verge of having a heart attack. Short of clutching at his chest and falling over, he was showing all the signs. Bulging eyes, shortness of breath, change of colour.

"Who told you they were involved?" Putting a hand on his shoulder, Akiza was genuinely worried about his health. "No, no. I'm fine." Taking a slow breath, he forced his complexion back under control. "What sort of evidence do you have that the ICC is involved?" Flicking her eyes towards the bench behind her, Akiza shrugged.

"A lot of different faces today." She wasn't technically lying. Saying that her own phone number was texting her sinister advice about legal loopholes just sounded a lot less plausible than just noticing a change of experts on the benches. "Words is, a few are assistants from the ICC. I can't find out much more than that. Like who the ICC is?" Ending her sentence with the same pointed question she had started with, Akiza continued to press for the information that she had been told was significant.

"Sending assistants isn't the problem that matters right now." Noting how Yusei was still trying to rest his eyes and recover as much as he could, Kamikawa lowered his voice to a tiny whisper. Low enough that nobody beyond the pair of them could hear the words. "The ICC is the International Criminal Court. They're an international tribunal that has always sat in The Hague, the ones who come when the people in charge of countries turn out to be criminals."

"Can you think of any reason they could be watching this case?" Akiza had never heard of the ICC before the letters had scrolled across her phone. There was no need to. These were the people who prosecuted war criminals and genocidal maniacs. When they got involved, it was because the guilty people – and they were always guilty when the ICC got involved – were dangerous on a global scale.

"Nothing that springs to mind. The International Criminal Court deals with crimes against humanity. No matter what the charges are, this is far out of their normal procedure." Everyone who knew Yusei would understand that the SRC was designed to advance science for the betterment of the world. Research designed to help, not hurt. "Knowing the ICC is involved could be very useful. It might allow us to make things... difficult." He caught the disapproving look Akiza was giving him. "As I said, the ICC has always sat in The Hague. Sending one or two assistants might be keeping an eye. Putting them on the tribunal could mean they're moving further afield." Hosting a trial of their own was one matter. If the ICC was trying to interfere with legal processes in individual countries, it could spark a global outcry. There was just one problem that Akiza didn't know about yet.

* * *

Once the tribunal had reconvened and the public onlookers took their seats again – Din claiming a chair by scaring off the person who had been sitting beside Crow – Akiza noticed how a few of the faces had once again switched around. Whatever game the ICC were playing, they were careful to keep their presence a secret.

Having learned of the danger of trying to meddle with the character witnesses, the tribunal simply sat back and let the remaining members of the SRC quietly filter through their statements. Thankfully, each only took about ten minutes each. Akiza only knew a few of the faces that went up on the stand. Aside from Din and a trembling Haruka, she knew Anthony Head as the Research Librarian – due to Din's constant insults describing the man in a disturbing yet accurate way – and recognised a handful of others by sight. Except for Din's overly graphic entry, they were unanimous in praising Yusei's leadership skills and trustworthiness.

It was just past 2 PM when all the accepted character witnesses had delivered their supportive words. More than the fresh food and massive intake of caffeine, their kindness was supporting Yusei in that troubled time. It was evident in the way that he slowly straightened up the more that they talked. Every compliment and shared story had built his resolve – worn from a week of isolation and silent wakefulness – back to the unstoppable reaches that had pushed him from being a nobody in the Satellite to becoming the third King of Games. It wasn't exactly hope that he was feeling now. Hope was what kept people going in the face of despair. Certainty that he would not let them win, that this would not be his end, that he would not let his friends, family and colleagues get taken away from him or he from them. That was what he was feeling.

Up on the bench, Dr Undercliff had watched the transformation take place. If he had been smug the day before, he was irritated now. Very irritated. Maybe even angry. By the time that anyone looked in his direction, the expression was gone and the tribunal was moving on to ask a new set of questions.

Walking out into the open area between the tribunal bench and the rows of onlookers, Cassidy pulled a thick sheaf of highly detailed information from out of one folder. "As part of a standard information gathering search, copies were made of your personal computers." Such procedures weren't exactly unexpected. But – using the pretence of looking for confirmation from his legal team as an excuse to peek at the rows of observers – it was certainly news to Yusei's family. So nobody had physically gone to Poppo Time. Interesting. "A team of experts has sorted through the data and" Sensing the pressure about to turn on him, Yusei struck out with a disarming question of his own.

"Just out of curiosity, did you find a folder labelled 'research' when you went through my computer?" Titters and muffled laughter sounded as his expression remained perfectly still. Having a folder labelled 'Research' was one of the oldest and most useless tricks in the book. It might as well have been labelled 'Homework'.

"These are serious proceedings. Behave appropriately." An older lady had the sort of stern look that terrified most schoolchildren. Lucky circumstance that Yusei had been taught from home from a caring mother and the look failed to dredge up any memories.

"Don't worry, I will... Did you happen to see any of the pictures? I would be quite embarrassed to have to explain some of those." Only three people in the audience weren't laughing at this point. Yusei (who was almost certainly legally obliged not to crack up), Akiza (who correctly guessed that he was talking about evidence of his condition) and a silent third party (who had learned to tell when the defendant was being serious – and this was one of those times).

"We also obtained copies of your internet history." Compared to his new face, Yusei's old look was practically laughing. If they had skipped past his computer, they probably hadn't recognised the significance of the files. Maybe because nobody who had seen the files had advanced medical degrees. Unfortunately, anyone from off the street could read what was in his internet history.

"Is there any way that we can agree not to share those and just give me a longer sentence?" Certain emotions of the human soul have never been fully documented. What was creeping over the faces of the tribunal could best be described as the situation where a sibling has just inadvertently revealed potentially embarrassing information in front of all their family, friends and everyone they have ever met and _those_ people have realised.

"No." At what point had Cassidy stopped being a prosecutor and started being a clown in the circus this tribunal had become? "As I was saying,"

"I'll need a copy of any records you wish to present." Weary sighs came from the bench.

"Considering your coding abilities, it was decided viewing the records would be too risky." Undercliff took the unfortunate job of denying Yusei access to the data. At least he managed to stop the despair from showing on his face in any way whatsoever.

"Since when was the defendant not allowed to see the evidence against them?" Nobody was really believing this was a simple tribunal at this point. That didn't stop people from pointing it out to each other as they muttered in the stands.

"... We can have paper copies made available." Everyone in the room was aware of just how skilled Yusei was with a computer. Putting one in his hands was asking for trouble. "I hope that will suffice."

"It would be _preferred_." Computers were good for reading the records yet the archaic method of printed material had the benefit of letting him view several parts of the data at once.

"While the data is printed, we will be continuing." Cassidy seemed to be suffering from the idea that if she could get enough evidence out to the public, the SRC team would forget that they were still waiting on prior evidence. "Amongst the data recovered from your computer, we discovered a series of spreadsheets that appeared to be SRC financial records. We also uncovered a second set which indicated funds were being diverted from the SRC accounts into a variety of others. A reputable accountant" And Yusei instantly knew that it wasn't Pessimal. The tribunal would be bragging if they had hired the best and not settled for a runner-up "Tracked down the other accounts. We have a recording of their final report." As the recording began to play, Yusei's copy of supposedly his own records arrived. Taking the thick manilla envelope in his manacled hands, Yusei set it on his lap and began flicking through the sheets as he skimmed through the information at an incredible rate.

" _Following the information on the first account, we discovered a series of accounts that had been opened under various pseudonyms. Many of them relied upon the other identities to be created._ " There were certain tax havens in the world where simply owning one account was identity enough to open another. Like a run of dominoes, they only needed to be traced back to the start of the run to find a culprit. " _After tracking back each account to the source, we eventually managed to uncover one with a legitimate identity behind it._ "

Certain listeners leaned forward as they paid close attention to the question. Most companies had a few bank accounts that didn't technically exist. A lot of wealthy people had a lot. And some people just wanted to keep their extreme privacy intact. All of them were interested in how these accounts had been uncovered.

" _What name was on the first account?_ " A voice – not Cassidy's – was asking the questions in the recording. That was good to know.

" _It was Dr Yusei Fudo._ " Mumbling sounded through the vast room as the words spread. " _All the personal information entered was Dr Fudo's._ " Shocked gasps sounded throughout the room as cameras flashed and video cameras broadcast the information around the world in seconds. Whatever other secrets about Yusei Fudo would be uncovered, this was the biggest scoop of the tribunal so far. Nobody would be able to claim that he was suitable to run the SRC now.

Which only made it that much more confusing to see him flicking back and forth through several sheets and smiling at the corners of his mouth.

"Might I confer with my legal counsel for a moment?" Having slowly spread the numerous pieces of paper out across the vast desk, Yusei was forced to shuffled himself around to the table to outline his argument to the whole team. As the questions continued to unfold behind him, the conversation at the table only grew more intense. Not that he was even paying much attention to the tribunal. After a few minutes quiet debate with his lawyers, one of them actually laughed. That drew attention from parts of the bench.

"Are you paying attention?" Sticking the tip of his tongue out between his teeth as he nodded, studious hands were carefully folding one of those important pieces of paper in excruciatingly exact movements as Yusei slowly moved back to sit in his chair. This wouldn't easily work with his size. Every action had to be precise.

"Of course." Sliding a finger between folds of the paper, he propped the paper up in a distinctive shape. "You have my _full_ attention." Then one hand slowly reached up and perched the paper hat atop spiked clusters of his hair. "For these serious proceedings." Lips twitched throughout the audience as smiles broke out through the audience.

"Are you attempting to prepare grounds for an insanity plea?" Looking up at the figure, Akiza almost choked. Dr Burrell was one of the most respected psychological analysts in the field. Whoever was behind this facade was pulling serious strings.

"Me? No. Just keeping important information where I won't misplace it." Sharp eyes could pick out strings of numbers piled atop each other in organised columns. "You were just proving how I was cutting budgets in order to pocket the difference for myself?" Taken aback by his happy tone, the tribunal took a moment to react.

"Yes. That is," Checking back against her notes, Cassidy rallied magnificently. "These documents prove that funds were being diverted from SRC projects to a series of accounts being managed under the name of Dr Fudo." It was impossible to hold it in any longer and Yusei just burst out laughing along with his colleagues slowly joining in. There was no way their leader would be laughing unless he had a good reason. Coupled with his charming nature and an infectious smile, they were unable to help themselves. "Would you restrain yourself?" It took another moment but he managed to straighten up slightly with that paper hat slightly askew.

"Who," A continued deep inhale managed to calm him down enough to talk coherently. "Who did you hire to hack my computer?" Murmurs arose in the stand before order restored itself. Coupled with the lack of formal charges, it was starting to look increasingly like a setup.

"A warrant was issued and the New Domino Police Department was authorised to intervene." Documents supported the claim and members of the police department would back them up. That didn't stop it from being a lie. It was just a pity that Cassidy was being left to take the blame when Yusei could tell that she had no idea they had even been given to her.

"Any attempt to access my computer through the Police Department's connection to the SRC would have gone off without a hitch. You should have actually tried that first." Setting up the security himself meant that Yusei could be sure just how secure it really was. If anybody had reason to suspect one of the SRC managers was corrupt or compromised, the police department simply had to enter a warrant number and name of the person they were investigating to get full access to all they needed for their case. Only Abi would know and she was forbidden from warning anyone – including her creator – until charges were filed.

"What's the legal term for lying through your teeth?" Holding the origami hat in hand, Yusei plucked it from his messy hair as he glared for the cameras. "Because 'official' records just submitted as evidence are fraudulent. In my hand is the supposed 'proof' that I diverted SRC funds into my own accounts last year – dated 31st September." Tapped by one finger was that particularly damning date that proved at least part of the document had been forged.

"So?" It was like Jack was heading legal effort to take him down. Yusei actually felt a spark of pity for the idiot on the bench. The ICC usually employed some of the finest minds yet their assistants seemed barely capable of actually listening to basic facts.

"September is only thirty days long." Laughter arose as reporters updated their outlets and television spread the information around the world before it could be revoked. "From the way that these files are formatted, I'm assuming that a remote boot-loop exploit was employed to plant them." Even from just the way that the fake information had been laid out, he had formulated theories on how they had been forced into his computer. "Don't worry, I'm sure it will be easy enough to find the forger once this trial is over. No rush."

"Since it appears that you may have been the victim of an unauthorised computer breach." Impossible with SRC linked computers but Yusei only had one of them linked to the network. His other computer was for personal use. Just how personal was about to be made clear. "I would like to present the next piece of evidence which was provided by your internet provider direct." It was obvious to the public that Cassidy was trying to double down on the computer evidence by proving at least some of it was legitimate. "Can you explain why you have almost three hundred recorded instances of access to websites with... sexually explicit content in the last month alone?" No investigation in history had been as confusing or bizarre as the tribunal currently underway. At least this was one question that he could answer easily.

"Would you believe me if I said it was for research?" Laughter broke out across the planet as his excuse was translated into all languages and broadcast into every country. "One of the projects I am currently working on is an attempt to collate an acceptable list of online advertisements. I test most of the major updates personally." Maybe the most mundane endeavour he had ever undertaken was the attempt to strike a balance between blocking harmful or offensive adverts while letting enough through to keep websites afloat. "It uses a website crawler to run a virtual web interaction and trace the origin of the data to identify anything that doesn't originate at the site being scanned."

"Are you saying that you were accessing pornographic websites just to view the _advertisements_?" It was the worst excuse since trying to pretend you clicked on a link by accident.

"Also a few peer-to-peer networks, one for file sharing, a couple of dating websites, some restaurant reviewers, other material of similar types." Idly ticking off the list did nothing to incriminate him as Yusei continued to expand and explain the point. "Can't do much on the project now. No telling how many companies will try to target me now that word is out. Sorry, looks like you'll have to keep it going without me." That last was directed towards the video cameras spreading his defence to the public.

"So it was legitimately for research purposes?" Trying to find problems with the honest truth was impossible yet they were still trying.

"Well, mostly." Scratching at the corner of his mouth did little to hide Yusei's smile. "My brothers have been back in town for a few days. They might have used the internet a bit." Outraged shouts came from the stands as he stood there with an overly serious face. "Out of curiosity, how many sites have been accessed in the past week? Just since I was in holding." Guards were closing in as Jack and Crow threatened to break both his legs if Yusei was lucky enough to actually escape punishment from the trial.

"Since that has no relevance to these proceedings," Unable to help herself, a corner of the folder was lifted so that a quick scan could be taken. " _Wow_. I mean, that information cannot be publicly released." One eyebrow was raised and both eyes were blinking a bit faster than normal after seeing the numbers. Sly glances were seeking out Jack and Crow from every angle as the twins carefully edged away slightly. Only Akiza could see that faint twitch on the corner of Yusei's jaw that indicated his withheld smile. No matter what attempts they made, he had just pulled off the biggest practical joke possible.

As they continued to probe into his personal life, Yusei continued to deflect and explain every seemingly suspicious aspect they had found with reasonable and sometimes amusing answers. What had started out as just another boring day of easy questions and tiresome facts had quickly evolved into one of the most extreme legal backlashes that Akiza had ever seen. The tribunal assembled against him had tried to discredit Yusei with the most intricately fabricated lies they could put together only for the one loose thread to be instantly plucked and for it all to fall apart. Whoever was behind this, whatever the ICC were up to, they had only managed to get this far because Yusei had been caught off guard. Now he was aware of the problem and focused on it, they could literally count the days left until it was all torn apart.

* * *

 ** _Is there a law about not leaving a review? Best not risk it and leave one anyway._**


	32. Wednesday: Infiltration

There is an old saying: watch what the left hand does when the right hand moves. It means to beware (particularly in government) of what some people will try to sneak by when everyone is distracted. Nobody would doubt that the honourable right hand in events was Yusei Fudo, all the eyes of the world watching him undergo a tribunal to determine his guilt. There was little doubt that it was the most interesting event since he had been crowned the King of Games just a few days before. Picket lines and mobs were forming at random across the city, calling police to break them up only for squabbles to rise and require additional forces five times out of six. That left a lot of places with depleted guards and previously unthinkable plans dripping with possibility.

Enter the proverbial left hand.

Many unsavoury acts had been carried out under Goodwin's supervision of New Domino City and the resulting control by Yliaster. Research into Shadow Cards, unethical experiments to transfer the abilities of a Psychic Duellist into regular people. What had not – or could not – be destroyed was locked away and placed under heavy guard. Few people in the city knew what had survived or where it still resided. One of these people was a highly trained police officer with who had left his phone alone one time too many. Only a few minutes were required for that list of who knew where the last of these dangerous devices were hidden had grown by one. Now they were coming to take the treasure.

It would have been far easier to enter at night but the crowds and protestors who so wonderfully drained the regiments of guards dispersed under the chill grip of evening and let the ranks top right back up to full strength. Besides that, the light of day would only make it impossible to miss the intruder. It would have been next-best if the hideout had been fully deserted but five moderately trained police officers posed little enough of a barrier to risk it. Nobody really liked guarding an unknown location while important events were going on so both moral and attention would be in short supply.

Entering a secure building is a tricky matter. Cars are searched, identities questioned and unfamiliar faces scrutinised. That is not to say that getting in is impossible, merely difficult. Getting in without being detected was far closer to being impossible. Three ways are typically least guarded: through the roof, through garbage disposal or from beneath. Roofs are difficult to reach without being seen, waste systems are surprisingly closely observed and infiltrating from beneath – while usually the least guarded of all – presents the unique challenge of getting there in the first place. Unless there was already a passageway present.

Large cities have large infrastructure and large government buildings need access to large amounts of resources. Large drains of water mean large pipes. Pipes just big enough for a person to fit through. Unlike the waste pipe that had allowed Yusei to escape from the Satellite aboard a Duel Runner, this pipe was just about large enough to enlist a steady crawl. Official records would list it as 'undergoing maintenance' for a period of six hours. Short enough to avoid suspicion, long enough for a brief infiltration.

People rarely patrol the service levels beneath industrial buildings. Machines ran themselves well enough for the most part and few like to work in areas that never see sunlight. If anyone happened to have been lurking around a rarely visited sub-level twenty feet below ground level, they might have noticed a heavy metal cover carefully pried open from inside. They would also have been privy to a slim outline of a helmet emerge slightly to scan the surrounding floor. Of course, anybody who had been present to see any of this would have been swiftly dealt with and wished they had never seen it in the first place.

Clambering out into the empty room, careful hands slipped the hatch back closed again. Scanning around the room, it located the correct target set high up near the ceiling in the form several dirty slats. A sullen, silent glare went towards the vent. If any sound had been heard from the intruder, it would have been a weary sigh. Every detail of the plan had been committed to memory and this was far from the last cramped space that it would have to endure. Lifting itself up into the vent, a careful arm reached back to pull the cover into place again. Even if there was little chance of anyone entering the disused basement, they would instantly notice the swinging panel and sound the alarm.

Air ducts – whilst hardly spacious – connect just about every possible corner of a building. As long as a person stayed in those connected directly to the building itself and didn't strain against the metal plating, a careful crawl would allow them to move about completely unseen. In this case, two floors up from the lowest floor, back out along the floor, third left, fifth right. Silently repeating the instructions eventually revealed a vent opening even more disgusting than the one in the dungeon far below the ground. Quite why there was even an air duct that lead to that passage was anyone's guess.

Crawling out of the hole, the figure dusted itself off as it looked up the gaping hole of the elevator shaft. Three cubes were available for a building this size but only one actually went to a place that almost everyone in the building was unaware even existed.

Scanning up the lengthy walls of the shaft, sharp eyes picked out an irregularity almost perfectly in the middle of the building. It was actually slightly higher than the middle to account for less populated floors near the entrances at the bottom of the building. Thicker than average elevator doors were positioned on the left of the shaft. That meant the intruder would have to avoid directly interfering with that elevator which would have tighter security than any of the others.

A rare stroke of luck was actually bringing one of the other two lifts down the shaft at that moment. Clambering up the emergency access ladder, it was an easy step to make the jump from the side of the shaft to the lift. Of course, luck wouldn't extend as far as letting the correct elevator be the one to reach the bottom of the shaft. Instead came a leap to grip a cross-brace on the exterior of the lift to dangle beneath. Smashing into the side of the lift would have alerted anyone inside more than a slight swing that could be attributed to uneven pull on the cables.

Floor displays in elevators are notorious for being unreliable but the ones in these three lifts were probably the most accurate in the city. A simple program deduced which floor the lift was departing from, where it was going and then evenly distributed the amount over the duration of the journey whenever it would involve going past that those reinforced doors. It was impossible for this lift to even stop outside the floor so the figure simply told it to arrive at the floor above. No recorded use of that simple program, easy to reach up and shuffle into the tiny crawlspace between two floors one another panel was lifted up and allowed the intruder to squeeze through.

Hundreds of films have depicted rugged heroes crawling through wide vents or gaps between floors large enough to squat between. Reality was far less kind. Most buildings had gaps barely a few inches wide. Cables and pipes had to be easily accessible and or replaced but nobody wanted to lose minuscule amounts of money on the long shots. Service staff would have to simply inch their way through the gaps for hours at a time in order to fully replace unimportant cables. At least the building currently being infiltrated had planned on regular upgrades. There was almost enough room to comfortably combat crawl through the tiny gap. Almost.

Another thing that people constantly misunderstand about floors is how little noise they actually block. Your average office worker will swear that they cannot hear through to the next floor. Your average office worker has also not been in the office during the dead hours of the morning where it is possible to hear a vacuum cleaner operating on the other side of the ceiling. If an impossibly unlucky worker was to take a few wrong turns on the way to the watercooler and end up sandwiched between floors, it would even be possible to listen to individual footsteps moving back and forth. Of course, such a disoriented person would likely end up screaming for help instead of planning how to elude patrols instead.

Cautiously edging into a quiet area of the crawlspace, the intruder calmly listened to the patterns of footsteps. If they were being counted correctly, there were currently four guards on patrol around the floor. And – judging from the regular patterns they were making – not venturing into any of the rooms on the floor. A calculated risk was paying off. No official plans existed for the hidden floor and any sort of reconnaissance could have raised the alarm long in advance. If the floor had been a single open space, intrusion would have failed. Luckily for any intruders, governments love to compartmentalise. Rows of cube-like rooms lined the floor in rows. Much like the floor to Yusei's office far across the city, these were filled with records that most people couldn't be trusted with.

Inching through the gaps between the floors, each footstep above gave just enough noise to indicate where the rooms were. Builders like to keep things uniform. It made construction that much easier. Which meant that most of the rooms would probably be an equal distance apart from each other. So if the steps were sounding ten feet to either side of this spot, it was either directly in the middle of the corridor or hidden away in one of the rooms.

Hopefully, it was the latter. Suddenly dropping into the middle of the hallway in sight of the guards would present a few problems.

Carefully peeling back a panel on the ceiling, it was relieved to see the unmistakable signs of a dark room below. Even better, it was a file room. There was no telling the secrets contained within. If there had been the time, every document would have been scanned and read. Instead, there was only minimal interaction with the documents. Making sure that there were no security devices on the drawers, a nimble hand dipped through the documents until it found everything that it needed.

Crouching down by the door, a careful examination of the tiny gap between the frame revealed only a standard latch keeping the door closed. Maybe so the rooms could be used as interim prisoner holding, keypads were on both sides of the handle in order to prevent anyone from breaking out of the room. If only the builders had thought to add a manual lock. Threading a realigned paperclip through a piece of string formerly wrapped around a cardboard box, the resulting hook looked just like a fishing lure. Curling the thread of metal around the door latch, tugging it back out from the door left the string curled on both sides. A slight pressure on the handle, one swift tug on the string and the door opened.

Budget cuts were every thief's dream. Fewer guards, lower security, logs on keypad usage instead of doors unlocking. Despite the extreme lengths taken to hide the floor – and the room that was being used as an access point – all that security was being overcome by a piece of string, a paperclip and a torn shred of blank document forced into the latch hole to keep the door from locking again. Even if the process had taken longer than was preferable, it was still shockingly easy to actually do and would leave barely any trace of tampering.

The problem with most people – the figure had realised – was how they often tended to try thinking on a large scale when a smaller one would work better. Still, getting outside the room was one matter. Moving around without being seen was a different one altogether.

* * *

That there were no cameras on the floor was the singular weak point in security. Any cables could be compromised and feeds hijacked so the design had gone for living security instead. Each guard always had at least a decade of field experience and none of them had high enough clearance to actually open the most secure vault. Attacking one would raise the alarm while gaining nothing in return. A tiny tingle of enjoyment would run through most hardened thieves at the challenge but it also happened to raise a tinge of panicked bile in the dark throat. Fear of being discovered had that sort of effect. Even though it had taken precautions, there was no way of eliminating the chance that a guard could walk around a different corner than normal and catch the intruder in the act.

According to the patterns of footsteps, one guard would carefully walk around the outside perimeter at all times. Another two would guard the lift while the final pair walked back and forth along the rows and columns in staggered timing. Despite the lack of manpower, they were providing a remarkable level of security to the floor. At least, except for the one that was currently enjoying a break to listen to the news on the radio.

' _trade sanctions. Meanwhile, Scandinavia remains in the grips of the extreme weather that has plagued the region for nearly three years. Scientists predict that it may be a minor climate shift in the region. In local news, a prominent member of the New Domino Scientific Research Centre appeared before a special tribunal into the suitability into the Yusei Fudo to lead the facility. One scientist delivered a lengthy report which cumulated with the phrase "a lot of you are worthless piles of manure". The SRC has declined to comment until after the tribunal has been resolved._ '

Wait. There was a break in the pattern. Two sets of footsteps had 'coincidentally' bumped into each other as the radio was hurriedly cut into silence. As they were at a crossroad in the grid, there was no way to get around them without being noticed. Waiting patiently around a corner of one room, the silent party listened in to the conversation as it kept an internal fix on the perimeter guard.

"What're they saying about the trial?" Even at a time when security was at their thinnest and everybody should be on full alert, there was still time for gossip. Plus, sharing the news would allow them to be let off without reprimand.

"Nothing much. I think one of the science people called most of the tribunal a pile of shit." That would be Din's character reference the day before. Nobody else would have the nerve to go on record with such a pointed insult or possess the drive to actually prove it. Of course, he was also intelligent enough to avoid saying it outright.

"Damn. I almost wish I was on the City Hall detail." A quiet snigger came from one of them. "Beats constantly walking circles around here. How often do we even get visitors?"

"About once a month. At least they came early this time." The guards sounded fairly bored with their duties. "I heard that they were going over a lot of the cases to see what sort of experiments the SRC does. Keep having to send the public out until they can redact the good stuff." Waiting patiently around the corner, the intruder had been listening to the news feeds on the journey over. Going over SRC experiments served little purpose in relation to determining Yusei's suitability to lead the facility. The tactic had freed up some urgency around the trial and spared the time to commit to this infiltration so the thief was grateful to it but still held suspicion about what the real goal was.

"Unless they've got a cure for my bald spot, they can go hang." Almost spitting in anger, it appeared that one guard was not that big a fan of science. "Better get back to it before the big guy comes back out." Muttering shared grunts of comradeship, the pair departed in their own separate directions. Once the way forward was clear again, a black shape flowed over to the centrepiece of the floor. Three times the size of any of the other room, this vault had walls three inches thick and had a suitably impressive entrance to match.

A lot of tax money had been put towards building the door. It was large, gleaming metal and even had a giant obsolete tumbler sat into the middle to reinforce just how heavily protected it was. A palm reader was placed to one side of the door, a retinal scan just above it and there was even a keypad just to make the security company look like they knew what they were doing, bless them. Some people just liked adding on extra lights into security in order to look more effective.

First to be overcome was the hand scanner. Whoever had installed this scanner had cheaped out on the model. Some of the devices at the SRC would fail to open if a person's skin was too dry and started cracking. This particular device was nowhere near as advanced. A medical glove, a slight application of quick-drying glue pressed against the screen was enough to copy the last set of prints that had left behind an oily residue from their touch. Let the computer cycle through once for a failed scan before reapplying the adjusted copy and the first security precaution was bypassed. It was horrifyingly simple after that.

In order to stroke the ego of easily unsettled politicians, the name and picture of whoever owned the palm print would flash up on the screen as the hand was taken away. That literally told a well-prepared thief exactly who needed to present an iris to be scanned. For legal reasons, anyone who had access to this room had to pass a certain level of physical fitness, including a mandatory eye exam. It was an obvious option to go and steal an eye and hand but that would completely destroy the idea of stealth and meaning having to actually interact with somebody. Far easier to simply find the government optometrist who had carried out the examinations and take a copy of their records. Then it was a simple matter of constructing a virtual eye to be offered up to the scanner. Closing an eye inside the mask to avoid any chance of an overlapping image, the retinal pattern that appeared on the front of the helmet was good enough to fool the second machine. That only left the keypad.

What a lot of security companies fail to publicly disclose is the existence of an overriding command code built into their devices. It is so that any big client that might suffer an embarrassing hack can be quickly and quietly put back to factory specifications at the small cost of having to reassign any passwords previously in the system. Everything from bank machines to supercomputers had some sort of mechanism to bypass the security in a hurry. Weirdly, a lot of security companies actually had fairly poor security once you managed to get inside and finding the top-secret access code had been easier than sneaking onto the hidden floor. One entry of a master command code later and the third lock sent a green light to join the other two and let the door open slightly. Worming fingers into the gap, the figure slipped inside and pulled the door shut an instant before one of the guards could turn a corner and spot the intruder.

* * *

All manner of items that could fulfil the darkest dreams or bring nightmares to the most twisted mind lay hidden inside the room. The intruder was momentarily overcome with a greed to take everything before it focused on the task at hand. There was too much to safely carry anyway. Forged credentials could open the door but there were several rows of shelves from where absolutely every scavengeable item had been gathered from the ruins or remains of every experiment into things humanity had no control over. Each case and crate in the small storage room was secured with thick locks and heavy chains. It was almost too easy to find the few items that really mattered.

Walking over to the first of two cases at the rear of the room that were the real goal, a dark finger traced a straight line through the thick loop of metal holding it closed. With a quiet tinkle, the broken padlock fell to the floor and allowed the case to be opened. Inside lay an innocuous item that wouldn't be out of place just about anywhere in the world. It was difficult to imagine the sheer destructive potential that lay within. Who was stealing it didn't have to imagine – the had seen recorded footage, read bloody results. They knew exactly what they were doing, what they were taking.

After the first case, the shimmering outline inside the second was far less shocking than if it had been seen first. Deadly, dangerous, corrupting. Check, check, check. Many of these qualities were shared with basic firearms. Unlike many guns, this weapon had a sinister match to the empty darkness that reached out for it and vanished the item to areas unseen.

Every story has heroes who do the right thing for the right reasons. Most also have villains, those who do the wrong things for the wrong reasons. Some even dwell on grim 'anti-heroes' who undertake morally dubious actions for morally dubious reasons, right things for the wrong reasons. The lunatic who was currently undertaking the single dumbest heist of the decade was certainly not a hero but probably not a villain either. Wrong thing for maybe almost the right reasons. Would such a thing as an anti-villain describe it best? Morals were often overrated and a waste of time when under pressure. Brushing aside the moral implications for another time, the careful criminal spirited away the item before turning to pick out a few of the other dangerous treasures.

If and when anybody thought to look inside the impressive vault, their sole link to the crime would be a new user who had only ever opened the door a single time. It was not a complicated trick to pull off once somebody was inside the system. In speeds that fell not that far short of incredible, the thief had entered, swiped the loot and was about to leave before alarms could be raised or guards could spot the intruder. Only a flicker of pride passed at the illicit act. It was smothered beneath the weight of what had been done.

"My my, marvellously done." Whirling around into a low crouch, the intruder reconsidered the wisdom of not bringing an active weapon. Then it recognised the figure that was slipping from one of the bigger crates with a slow serious of claps and double-layered smile. "Why, not even Mr Hogan could have done it better." Standing back upright, the figure made a point of folding both arms in disbelief as it rubbed at a painted jaw. "Hmm. You probably noticed that pesky item is incomplete. Would you care to know why?" Ignoring the diminutive man, the intruder made for the door with their ill-gotten loot still kept under a watchful eye. "It is because all the others used in the research vanished along with their users during tests. Quite gruesomely, I might add." Pausing before the inside pad, a more lengthy code was entered by swift fingers. "Are you not at least curious how I knew to be here today?" Leaping from the crate like some maniacal jester-in-a-box, Lazar slipped over to lean against the imposing door.

Now there was a question that actually had some meaning to it. Pausing in the typing (which would have erased Lazar's code from the system and locked him inside until the guards came to find him) the intruder looked at the unthreatening figure blocking escape. Lazar was a formidable opponent yet not when locked in a confined space with no way to pull tricks. If he had somehow anticipated this theft – which was bordering on impossible – then a squadron of armed guards should have been waiting inside the vault. Not a strangely approving, eccentric bureaucrat.

"How about we make a deal?" Smiling up at the contemplating convict, Lazar withdrew a thick package from inside his jacket. "All you have to do is take this and hide it in the safest place you can think of. In return, I'll pay you, I don't know." A wicked smile perfected his sinister complexion. "Whatever you can take from this vault in a single trip?" It was closer to blackmail than extortion. All that he had to do was trip the alarm systems and this excursion would be over far faster than it had begun.

Cautiously reaching out a hand, the package was taken in one black palm. Heavy, reinforced container. Marginally smaller than the average atlas. Weighty enough for an explosive. Probably contained a tracking device of some kind if not a deadly trap. Unwrapping the layer of white cloth that covered the contents, breath caught in a hidden throat. "Oh, you recognise it?" Lazar's jab barely registered. Yes, they had a rough idea of what it was. Billions in terms of money. Priceless in terms of value. "As a said, just take it to a safe place and you can keep your trinkets." Gripping the container tight in both hands, an awed look stared out at him. "No need to thank me. I'm just trying to make sure it doesn't end up in the wrong hands. Besides, you've proven that even Police Headquarters isn't secure enough to protect it."

Getting into the vault required no small effort. Even discovering the hidden floor was a result of intense preparation. Being able to sneak into that room had been the result of daunting research. There was obviously another game afoot. That didn't matter. Everyone was playing several games at the same time. What worried the thief was just why they were being involved in it. And – as Lazar had already pointed out – how he knew to be waiting. Nobody else had known the infiltration would be happening that day. Suddenly, the intruder remembered what they had overheard the guards saying – that this month's visit to the vault had come early. Impossible though it was, Lazar _had_ known that there would be a robbery that day.

Several ideas flickered beneath that impenetrable mask. Each of them had different yet equally dire ramifications. Tucking them all away in a corner of the mind, a single nod accepted the request. "Now, I'll ask the guards to escort me back to the lift. That should give you enough of a window to leave without being seen." Moving over to the keypad, he paused before actually touching it. "I suppose my code still works?" A silent tilt of a hidden head indicated nothing for certain. "Hmm." Pressing buttons on the pad did unlock the vault door and he stepped out into the corridor. "Guards, guards!"

Waiting patiently inside the vault, the intruder carefully crouched down behind a large crate. If Lazar turned out to be trying for deception – as he had done many times in the past – it would not end well. Just because he hadn't seen any weapons did not mean that the thief was either unarmed or harmless.

"Mayor Lazar." Appearing at a quick trot around the corner, two of the five guards arrived to answer the call. "Is anything the matter?" On the other side of an otherwise innocuous crate, a deadly poise tightened. The talking guard on the left was the sloppy radio-listener from before. He would be easy to take down. Seeing his partner go down would probably stun the other guard and that would only leave...

"Nothing whatsoever." More jovial than a drunk uncle, Lazar seemed to bounce on the balls of his feet slightly as he smiled at the taller figures. "Just thought to tell you that you may want to leave the door open for a bit. There was a sale on spicy noodles and I may have indulged a bit." Suggestion is a funny phenomenon. As he patted a seemingly bulging stomach and flapped his jacket, the guards in front of Lazar took an uncomfortable step backwards. "You may escort me to the lift." Setting the pace ahead of his escort, Lazar was too at ease for someone who should have just been trapped in a room with an intruder. "And don't forget to shut the door once I've left." As it watched the trio depart, an ill-feeling fluttered through the figure. Literally sick to its stomach. Yet filled with wonder at the same time. It had an unusual ability to comprehend ideas beyond normal understanding and the only ones which explained everything were delightfully dreadful.

One guard was left on the floor now, walking in a circle around the perimeter as the door and axis guards made sure that Lazar had departed. Gently stepping around one of the square offices in perfect opposition to the patrol on the other side, the outline slipped back into their entry point without anyone besides Lazar even having the slightest idea that there had been an additional figure present on the floor that day. Removing the paper jam from the lock, a careful hand quietly closed the door back again. Being caught in the middle of the theft had been entirely unforeseen. There had been a plan for the unlikely event that one of the guards happened to stumble onto the intrusion or even if they had been cornered by accident but to have someone waiting on the intrusion? It should have been impossible.

Balancing the panel on careful digits, the figure cautiously raised their cargo down into the hole ahead of them before clambering in. Leaving the building shouldn't have taken as long as getting in. With the precious container being carefully kept from any damage, it would now take about twice as long. It had been down to luck that a lift had been going past just when it was needed. Getting down the shaft would require climbing down an emergency ladder stuck to either side of the shaft, all while without the use of one hand.

As he stepped into a finally empty lift, Lazar nodded familiarly to the guards as the door closed. As soon as he was alone, Lazar took a faded piece of yellow paper from an inside pocket and regarded the words etched into the material carefully. "Ha. Hahaha!" Reaching clawed hands out to either side only accentuated his insane laughter. "Oh, what a joke, what a laugh! This will be a spectacle to see. No time to lose, no time to waste, no time at all!" As the light continued down the shaft, his cackles and quotes could be heard from many floors. Nobody could call anyone as successful as the mayor insane but something about his current attitude was enough to send shivers down spines.

* * *

About eight decades ago and a country or two over, a solemn figure was carefully sorting through Duel Monster cards as they prepared for their third underground match that week. If things went well, the young man would be moving upwards in the ranks. These types of events had to move quickly. By the time that the officials caught onto any sort of criminal activity, they would be long over.

"Aw man, this could be great!" Running over various combinations, the man currently going by 'John' had heard that he would be getting an official introduction to higher circles if he managed to win the upcoming Duel that evening. "But what if..." Reaching towards the stack of Spells he had been keeping over to one side, idle hands flicked through the pile as he searched out a card to add an extra blow to the final move. "Hey, what's this?" Picking up new cards was a habit every good Duellist learned yet John rarely felt the need to add a new one to the already versatile mix. "Where did you come from?" Reading the text, he smiled at the perfect addition to his Deck. "If I use this, then I can follow up with Astral Shift to really boost my hand. Or maybe Negate Attack, if I'm running low on Life Points." Setting aside his new addition for a moment, John picked through the assortment of Traps spread out across his bed which could provide further combinations.

Then something strange happened. He could have sworn that he was holding a new card in his right hand but – when he turned back with several ways to boost it – all that was there was a standard De-Fusion card. "Aw man, where did it go?" Looking about himself in a panic, there was no hint of the card. It was as if it had simply vanished into thin air. With little time remaining until he had to attend the final stage of the underground tournament, Jonn decided to focus on finalising strategies for the evening ahead. He had no way of telling the danger that was encroaching on his life.

As he went to the closed Midas Arena for the final round of illegal Duels, he checked his pockets for the card. During breaks between consistently close Duels, John did everything short of peeling off his trousers to locate the wondrous momentary addition to his collection. When the sinister higher rank came up to congratulate him on a victory, they received a deliberately insincere apology as John looked up from checking his Deck to see if it had slipped in without him realising it. "Whatever." Unlike legitimate tournaments, underground Duelling didn't require anyone to act nice. Quite the opposite, in fact. Kindness was weakness. "Here," Holding out a card, it barely reached a waist height before John snatched it up. He had _really_ liked how that missing card had complimented his Deck. "You're the only guy in the country to get one of these. It lets people know that you're one of us." It was obvious what the creator of the card had intended. 'Scandal of the Commoner's Hand' was a snide comment on the incredibly rare and valuable 'Glory of the King's Hand' and 'The Glory of the King's Opposite Hand' used in Duellist Kingdom. "There's a big gathering over in Bejing in a few days. All the newcomers and top brass will be there. Boss says that he's got big plans for us." Maybe comradeship wasn't enforced but thieves tended to stick together. Once he had passed across a date and location, the hand stayed out for John to shake. "Kid, you did good this week. Keep it up and you'll go far in our organisation." Looking at the thieving, lying, cheater straight in the eye, John let nothing seep past his game face as he gripped the dirty palm. "Welcome to the Rare Hunters."

* * *

 ** _Who~oo! Rare Hunters! Best not be that rare sort of reader that leaves a review!_**


	33. Thursday: Revelations

The fourth day of the tribunal bloomed ripe with possibility. Sun was shining, birds were chirping, Musume was only swearing with every third word and spending the rest of the time convinced that someone was whispering to her. (Admittedly, she was otherwise fine but the constant muttering – audible or otherwise – was putting her in a foul mood. It was just another in the list of excuses that she would dredge up.) Even the many media reporters were growing accustomed to the constant streams of 'no comment' that would come from both sides of the legal battle and lessening their incessant questions. It had all the makings of a good day. Then Akiza made the mistake of checking in on the SRC legal time.

"Kamikawa's furious." Like the innocuous ICC group silently observing the process, the SRC was rotating out members to keep anyone from burning out and Akiza didn't know the name of the specific lawyer she was talking to. Only Kamikawa was keeping himself present all day, every day. "Apparently, someone on the tribunal called in Ogino. She'll be first up."

"That's hardly fair on her." Even ignoring the fact that she was on compassionate level to treat a friend, Ogino was in Poland. Time difference meant that she was seven hours behind and approaching 2 AM. Even if the tribunal began instantly, she would be long overdue for some sleep of her own. "Do you know why she's being called?" But the tribunal was operating in its own set of rules and hadn't seen fit to inform them. Calling on the head of the SRC medical staff held dire tidings for their case and the lawyer was quick to join the table down on the floor.

"I'm worried." After a day of listening to dry science being reported, redacted and reported again, Akiza was almost grateful to the surge of emotion that greeted her as she took a seat.

"Why?" Unlike that other days, her friends were spread out over three rows. The Signers were ranked out on one, Din and Koharu sitting just below and the rest of Akiza's SRC friends just above. Crow was sitting to her left and asking the question.

"They're calling in the head of the SRC medical division." Spotting a new figure down on the bench below, she grabbed Crow's arm so suddenly that he would soon be checking himself for friction burns. "Crow." Speaking in that painfully calm voice that women used right before shit hit the fan and the fan was thrown at someone's head, she stared without blinking down at the tribunal bench. "I'm going to have to ask you not to let me rip that bastard apart."

"Is that Streiter?" Grabbing Akiza by one shoulder, Crow leaned heavily as Luna acted as another anchor on the opposite arm. "What's he doing here?" Din was saying all the wrong things and risking murder in the offing.

"How do you know him?" Incandescent rage was practically glowing off her as inaudible thunder rumbled.

"I heard he pissed you off." Rising to his feet on the chair, Din could easily launch himself over about three rows with ease. There were only five between him and the open area below. He could be launching an attack in two leaps. "Thought that I should do a little digging myself." If his barbaric antics and tone were anything to go by, Din would have preferred to dig the young man a grave and bury him in it. Maybe even kill him, if the mood was right. Luckily, any aggressive notions were prevented by the appearance of Ogino being projected onto one wall as the tribunal began for that day.

"Dr Ogino." Looking over at the ghostly outline, Hiraguchi seemed old friends with the image on the wall. "You look well."

" _A bit tired. Couldn't this have waited until later?_ " Brusque as ever, Ogino was able to see the courtroom through a grainy camera hastily erected against the wall she was being projected on.

"It is more convenient if we could get our questions out of the way early." As Hiraguchi continued as if Ogino was more accepting and less grumpy, Akiza remembered her previous job: Minister of Health. It was likely that they had interacted during her political career. "Just a few routine enquires. As you are the head of an SRC department, there is nobody who could fill in for you."

" _Let's just get this over with._ " Currently being in a different country with different customs and living in a general state of political indifference, Ogino was sipping from a mug that either contained juice or something a lot stronger. " _What do you want to know?_ "

"In your professional opinion, do you have any objections to Dr Fudo?" Scowling out across the massive distance, Ogino replied in a slow drawl.

" _No. Not a one. He's an aggravating, overly confident idiot but that's no different from everyone I work with these days._ " Her brand of snark was a curious middle ground between Din's insults and Yusei's charm. Everyone was offended but so accustomed to it that they barely noticed.

"I guess that we can skip asking for your personal feelings." Dr Undercliff seemed to have found a fast ally. "What about medically? Is there any reason that he could potentially be deemed unsuitable?" Moving in for the kill early on, he sensed blood in the water as Ogino squirmed beneath the weight of the question.

" _You do understand that confidentiality prevents me from_ "

"Dr Ogino." Breaking into the conversation with flashing eyes, Yusei would accept no lies on his behalf. "It is late where you are and there is no need to keep you up longer than necessary. You have my express permission to share whatever information that you deem appropriate." Up on the screen, the squat face tried to grapple with the idea that he was trying for subterfuge. It would make sense for most people to try and conceal information but Yusei wasn't 'most people'.

" _... Under Yusei Fudo's personal request, he has been assisting me in doing research into a unique neurological condition for the last six years._ " Confused mutterings spread throughout the crowd. Why would Yusei – with a background focused on particle physics and Momentum Reactors – be asking to assist on a neurology case? Physics and biology were about as different as Jack and Crow. " _During deep REM sleep, the subject would suffer intense seizures which have yet to be fully explained. No other symptoms have yet manifested nor has a permanent solution yet been found._ " With the truth flowing out, Yusei leaned back and closed his aching eyes again. Every opportunity was being taken to nap and he could rely on one of the many lawyers to nudge him awake if he started to drift off.

"And just who is this subject?" Of course, smarter minds in the crowd – mainly those belonging to the SRC – had already started to piece together the truth of the matter. Even as her boss and immediate superior, Yusei would have no authority to override doctor-patient confidentiality. Unless Ogino's patient had given her explicit permission to reveal themselves. "Who could be so important that they warrant the attention of the former Minister of Health and Yusei Fudo?"

" _The subject at hand is Yusei Fudo himself._ " And the world went mad. Cameras flashed, screams of outrage could be heard from outside the building and even Trudge growled at being kept from the loop. As the geographically closest friend, he felt that Yusei could have confided in him a bit more.

"Are you telling us that Dr Fudo has been suffering intense seizures every night for the past six years?" Streiter looked unpleasantly like he was enjoying himself. Had it not been for her pre-existing hatred, Akiza would have started to plan how to expose him. Right now, she was toying with how to dispose of a body and if she should ask Musume for help.

" _Dr Fudo has mentioned a habit of refraining from sleeping at least every other night._ " Looking down at the tiny figure on her monitor, she wondered just what sort of plot Yusei was brewing. Even after eight years, nobody at the SRC could match the depths of his planning. " _However, I have reason to suspect that he frequently sleeps as little as twice a week._ "

"You previously mentioned that no permanent solution has been found." At least Dr Burrell seemed to be refraining from joining the hunt for blood. "Can you describe what sort of treatment plan you are following?"

" _During his own hours, Dr Fudo has been researching his condition and contacted a few colleagues who were able to help him in the construction of a device to minimise the effects of his condition._ " Of course, the neural inhibitor! For just a moment, Akiza felt a surge of hope. Having a terminal condition was nothing to worry about if there was a treatment to keep it in check.

"Our records indicate that you have been on compassionate leave for a while." Streiter was still trying to pry open any sort of crack in the argument that he could find. "So, who has been treating Dr Fudo while you have been absent? Or did he think it unnecessary to inform anyone other members of staff about his illness?" True enough, the circle of knowledge was small. All three members of the SRC who knew were listening to the conversation. Only two were able to wait patiently.

"I've been treating him!" Already with his eyes closed, Yusei winced. There was no mistaking that level of determination, even if his ears were chopped off. It was the same irrepressible flame that had burned through to his dungeon in The Facility. In the privacy of his own mind, he silently started screaming in panic. At least the law had to follow rules. Akiza seemed skilled in finding ways around them.

Elbowing Crow aside and levering around Luna, Akiza seemed fit to burst with righteous rage as she stalked down to the podium below.

"I think that we've kept you up long enough." Exhausted as he was, Yusei knew that Ogino was undergoing deeper emotional turmoil than he was, having to care for someone who may not make it. "Thank you, Dr Ogino. I'm sure that you will receive a full report later." As much as she wanted to watch Akiza first-hand, Ogino was also wise enough to recognise an easy out when she needed it. Reaching out, she closed the laptop and vanished from the interaction as Streiter leered down at the new witness.

"So... I'm sorry, is it 'Dr' or 'Miss'? We seem to have documents going either way." Standing up in front of all those people and hearing that particular insult spread out across the world was almost more than she could safely control.

"A computer error caused my qualifications to be temporarily thrown into question while my hard copies were lost during the move back here." Against all odds, it had been Yliaster who had actually helped her back onto the course she had set out on. "Since they have been returned to me, you should have no difficulty using my official title." Streiter twisted his face as he struggled to contain his fury.

"For the record, can you state your position at the New Domino Scientific Research Centre?" Of course, he would use the full title. Anything to remind Akiza that he had stolen the role once promised to her.

"Part of the medical staff. I ensure that the physical and psychological well-being of assigned staff members are upheld." Eyes turned to Din. Everyone believed that he was more usually a source of stress than he was a victim. "When appropriate, I assist in their research projects.

"And you are currently trying to cure Yusei Fudo?" Streiter was obviously going to get her to admit to practising medicine at a time when she wasn't legally allowed to. If he did, Akiza would face jail time, Yusei would lose his friend and the tribunal would make great strides into taking Yusei down.

"No." Inspiration and realisation struck faster and heavier than lighting.

"Pardon?" Taking off his glasses, Streiter sneered down from on high. "So you deny records clearly proving you are researching his condition?"

"Not at all." This was just one more Duel in the game of life. Yusei being the King of Games didn't mean his friends couldn't hold their own at his side. "My job is to ensure Dr Din stays healthy and I assist him in researching the condition itself. Yusei being the first known affected is immaterial. It just means we can get readings at regular intervals and keep an eye on his condition at most times."

"A fine line." That was right. Get angry. Streiter was a mediocre doctor and a poor gambler. Not worth her time. "Then you have not attempted to administer any cures as yet?"

"Any _competent_ doctor would understand that finding cures for such a delicate condition takes considerable time." Oh, how easy it was to turn the tables. Strieter may have taken the job promised to Akiza but now she had more respect than she would have done, was doing ground-breaking research and potentially saving hundreds of people in the future. Working at the SRC was an impossible dream for somebody like him. "Our research currently has several potential avenues to investigate but the study has not yet provided a definitive cure." Which was not to say that they didn't already know of one. As long as nobody dug further into the issue, they would be fine.

"Sounds like you might be neglecting your patient." Gasps actually sounded. To say a doctor was neglecting a patient was the most serious claim that could be levied. Outrage was quick to spread through the gathered members of the SRC. Koharu needed one more sentence to let Din off his leash and two more to give herself a reason to join in.

"Maybe you should have yourself examined." Eyes widened as she refused to flinch. Sensing that implacable aura, almost all of her colleagues quietened down. For the safety of everyone in the building, Koharu was keeping Din pinned into his seat with one heavy robotic hand and keeping the other tightly across his foul mouth. Two options were open: stop trying to scream insults or pass out as his nose failed to provide enough air. "As I previously stated; Yusei Fudo is not my patient. And _my_ record is spotless, unlike certain people I can name." To have mentioned a name would have been dramatically unprofessional. Leaving it at inference meant that reporters would latch onto the juicy story once news of the trial began to fizzle out. Nothing like a bit of political intrigue to grab headlines.

"I think that we've heard enough for now." Stepping in before Streiter could say something to jeopardise their case, Dr Burrell went noticed only as a voice as reason with everyone else glaring down the hated fraud. "Thank you, Dr Izinski." Finally running out of air, Koharu gently propped the slumbering Din against her prosthetic body. Sheer hatred had kept him screaming longer than was biologically probable. "A short break is in order. One hour?" Checking with Hiraguchi for confirmation, Dr Burrell received the permission she needed.

* * *

"There was no way to expect that." Letting Jack terrify people into keeping their distance, Crow was trying to keep Akiza from exploding. Having managed to calm Musume down from an almost apocalyptic fit of rage in Paris, he was the most experienced person to keep her from wreaking righteous vengeance on the slimy figure of Streiter. "Ogino was meant to be on the other side of the planet. At least Yusei chose to reveal his condition." It was a small victory in the face of the overwhelming blow that had just been struck. "Look on the bright side. It can only get better."

As the sensation that eight decades of time to learn that certain phrases should be avoided at all cost settled in, Akiza felt the usually reassuring buzz of her phone shake through one pocket. Wordlessly grasping the device in one hand, she gripped it tight enough to threaten the integrity of the device. If it was bad news, she would be ordering a new handset. A message was waiting on the screen. This one was a lot more unpleasant than all the previous ones combined.

 _Obake has evidence that might help._ Nobody had seen Obake since his silent departure back in America. There one minute, vanished into the evening crowds the next. Now that somebody was pointing out his existence to her, Akiza wondered if he was even back in Japan.

" _Where is he?_ " If she left right away – traffic not being an option with gridlock around City Hall making it impossible to move – there would be just enough time to reach the SRC and come right back. Presuming that Obake was even back in the country, he could just as easily be in one of the many corridors in the network of utility tunnels as he could eating ramen in a restaurant near the sea. Unfortunately, no further assistance came from the unseen ally. They seemed to know information that she didn't. Hopefully, they wouldn't have given her any that couldn't be used.

"Jack, Crow," If there had been more time and fewer witnesses, she may have sworn. A lot. "Start at the east of the building and work your way back here. Leo, Luna, take the tower in the middle and work your way down. I'll take the west wing." It was a lot of ground to cover and she was unsure if they would be able to find someone as unobtrusive as Obake. "Work as quickly as you can but make sure to be back here before we have to go back in." With a task to focus on, her levels of anger were starting to ebb away for a more appropriate time.

* * *

In the end, it was Akiza who encountered the innocuous figure. Limping down a corridor in the direction of the courtroom, he was leaning heavily on a medical walking stick that Akiza recognised from her days of assisting with physical therapy back at Dian Keto.

"Obake." A bitter sigh ghosted his lips as the angry man recognised the voice coming from behind.

"What is it now?" Turning around, a metal rod was carefully positioned between both feet. "Another secret to destroy what little life I have left?" Sensing the onlooking group of her friends from a short distance behind, he gripped the handle tighter.

"Why do you have a cane?" Their relationship was growing increasingly strained so Akiza avoided the baited enquiry.

"People tend to frown upon those wearing blindfolds and seeing where they're going." It was easier to pretend to be blind and just get on with business with a pair of tinted sunglasses covering his eyes. "What do you want?"

"Is there anything you can think of that could help Yusei's case?" There was an incredulous pause. Then Obake carefully negotiated his way over to the edge of the corridor with Akiza following close behind.

"My eyes aren't the only reason I'm using this cane." Gently opening a gap between two buttons, he brushed a view to where the stab wound from America was still healing over. Stitches were holding the fissure closed but it was a poor job and hurt more than he was letting on. "Bad things happen to me every time I get involved with you people." Tucking the shirt back into place, Obake could still feel a dull throb with every heartbeat. "Your friend locked me in the dark for six years just so that he could make a point. There are few reasons for me to help him." A flash of inspiration struck Akiza just as he turned to leave.

"Steam pipe!" It had been the cane that had done it. It covered up a tiny limp from where the last stages of healing in his leg were still taking place. "If it hadn't been for me, you would have bled out."

"You think _you_ saved me?" There was a cruel scowl on his face as Obake faced her again. "I could have easily pulled out that shard and patched up my leg alone. Instead, I used it as an opportunity to help impress the friend of my 'saviour' to her new boss." It went a bit deeper than that. For a pipe to burst just when it was being repaired was the longest of odds. No, the incident with the pipe had arranged by someone.

"Still," It wouldn't do to back down now. This was Akiza's best chance. "I helped you. You owe me for that." A long pause went by as Obake considered the words. Even though he could have survived without her assistance, Akiza had still put herself on the line to try and help him.

"Maybe... There is something I can do." One thumb stroked the hard handle of his medical stick. "Nothing to bias the trial. Once the evidence is entered, it will be up to the tribunal to decide how to use it." Hardness entered his pose again. "After this, we're done. Signers, scientists, whatever. Your group has nothing on me and I owe you nothing. We're square." If she had known the full implications of her deal, Akiza would never have extended her hand.

"Fair enough." Straightening up as much as he was able, Obake glared from behind the veil of his glasses as he shook the offer sealed. "You have a deal."

"Then I guess I will see you in there."

* * *

With the break over, members of the public were quick to filter back into the stands overlooking the courtroom. There was little reason. By the time that the last seat had been taken and the doors closed, Kamikawa stepped out into the empty space in the middle of the distance between the SRC table and the rows of tribunal members. Professional sparks flew as he looked up at Hiraguchi. The two were arguably the leading members of their profession but some said the Minister of Justice had grown rusty in legal practise while others claimed the political manoeuvring kept his senses sharp. Whatever the reasons, sparks of professional rivalry had flown between the pair all week.

"Media will now be asked to leave the room for security precautions. Similarly, anybody without adequate clearance will be asked to leave as well." It had happened a few times already for the trial – when they had gone over several SRC experiments the day before – but this one was right after Akiza had asked Obake for help. Exactly what evidence could he have that was so important? "Dr Undercliff." Turning to the tanned man who had been sitting quietly near the centre of the lower row, the lawyer looked not even the slightest bit apologetic. "As this will touch upon internal SRC matters, you have been requested to remain outside until the proceeding is completed."

"Typical." Sending a polite look in the direction of Yusei, it was clear that the CERN scientist was less than pleased with being kept in the dark. "Right when things were getting interesting." Rising to his feet, clenched knuckles cracked against the table.

"You will, of course, receive a suitably redacted report once the evidence has been fully presented." Soothing Undercliff's displeasure with a few calm words, Hiarguchi waited patiently as a few more faces followed the CERN scientists from the room. Carefully watching the list of departed, Akiza noticed how none of them belonged to the ICC faction. Whatever angle they were playing, their members had received clearance to hear everything that went on in the courtroom. "Presenting character evidence for the accused is... Obake?" Nobody else involved in the trial was listed anywhere as simply as he was. No last name, no title. A few people assumed it was some sort of moniker. Like 'intern'. Or 'janitor'. Just a blank face in the background.

"That would be me." Limping down the stairs came that unsettlingly pale figure. Uneven steps carefully drew him up to the podium, inclining his head towards Yusei as they passed one another. "Professor Fudo."

"Obake?" Something akin to dread entered his being. Last time that he had spoken with Obake, it had been in the middle of a disturbed glade where he had ended dangling from an enraged grip. Not the best note to continue from.

"Mr Obake. We are told that you have sensitive information to add to the proceedings?" Grabbing the folder he had tucked under his right arm, Obake carefully positioned in along the exact centre of the podium as he looked up at Hiraguchi. Those glasses concealed a lot.

"It's just Obake. And yes, I do." Sliding open the front cover, he spread them slightly in case he needed to refer to the contents. It was a delicate matter that he was about to explain. If he spoke out of turn, it was likely that the day would end with the SRC hating him, the tribunal handing him a prison sentence and Yliaster taking an increased interest. Although, it was practically certain that at least one of the three would happen by the end of the day.

"Under the guidelines for cohabitation and inter-personnel relationships," There was a literal room for the unabridged manual of the SRC. It covered just about every eventuality and what to do in those circumstances. "It was deemed unsuitable for both Akiza Izinski and Yusei Fudo to reside at the same address for a substantial duration without the intent of either person seeking out alternative living arrangements. An IA2-48 investigation was started with the intent to ascertain their relationship and determine if it would cause interference with their responsibilities at the New Domino Scientific Reserve." So many legal terms could be misleading and confusing to the average person. Luckily, Obake had a good measure of the average idiot. "To paraphrase: people or persons were concerned their relationship may become an issue so it was put under a microscope." Mutters sounded around the remaining members in the hall. With a majority of them members at the SRC, they were seeing this news as a betrayal of their leader. Especially when practically none of them had any idea who Obake was.

"Can you explain what form of investigation it underwent?" Playing the part of a blind man very well, Obake turned to the voice with the question. It was one of the ICC assistants.

"Both subjects were observed under a variety of circumstances both while at work and outside it. In order to avoid the possibility of either tampering with the results or 'putting on a show', neither was officially informed of the IA2-48 investigation." Meaning that Akiza should pretend very hard that she hadn't been told by Din what was going. "All possible precautions were taken to minimise the risk of either subject becoming aware of the investigation."

"How long was the investigation underway?" That was a much more dangerous question. It was clearly no coincidence that this evaluation was coming to light right in the middle of a trial.

" _Dummkopf_!" Muttering under her breath, Akiza watched as papers were rustled through for a precise date.

"What?" Both Jack and Crow knew enough words in various languages to get by and that was not a nice one.

"The investigation only started after the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament." Which meant it would have only been active for the one week that they had been back at work. Crow had been busy in France and reporters had been a constant thorn in the rest of their sides. Any observations would have been tainted by the stressful circumstances of avoiding the media. "It could only have been on for a few days. They'll dismiss it out of hand."

"Apologies for the delay." Finally locating the correct piece of paper, Obake ran a finger through the text. "The investigation officially began on July 8th."

"That's sounds a bit longer than a week." Jack's narrowed eyes were searching out a reason for the discrepancy. Officials along the bench were also trying to pin down the date.

"That's a _lot_ longer than a week." Leaning her arm between herself and Crow, Akiza scrolled back through the calendar on her phone. It was far easier to pin down what had happened when she could see a few days at once.

"Approximately how long had the two been working together?" Dr Burrell was taking the lead on the questions again.

"At that time, they had minimal interaction."

"You said the investigation officially began on July 8th." Back to the idiot who had screwed up the dates to invalidate the fake bank transfers which had taken place. Akiza was really starting to hate that member of the ICC. "What about _un_ officially?"

"Paperwork was filed on July 5th. That was the earliest that an assessor could have been selected." Anyone who had been looking into their relationship before then had been doing so on their own time.

" _Scheiße_." Coughing to cover up her insult, Crow nudged Akiza to remember that she was in the middle of legal proceedings. Swearing – in German or any other language – would not reflect well on the case. Not after Din had already been on the stand.

"What is it?" Stowing her phone back away, she tried to put on a professional face through her anger.

"July 5th was my first day working at the SRC." Now that she had a date to work from, she could recognise the significance of the one just a few days later. "July 8th: First time that I met Obake." Not counting the incident in the lift.

"Oh." Then Crow put together the rest of the inference. "Oh, _scheiße_." Jack took a moment longer. His mind didn't operate in terms of espionage as easily as his brother's.

"We probably should have been a bit nicer to him." It was sounding more and more like they had been under observation since the very first time that Obake had met them all. He had been so unassuming that Jack and Crow had barely noticed his existence. Even Leo had paid barely any extra attention to someone who had spent so much time around his sister.

"Are you saying that the IA2-48 was ordered on the same day that Akiza Izinski started working at the SRC?" Merely being in the periphery of Yusei was enough to be put under scrutiny. Any hope of remaining her own person vanished the instant that question hit the public.

"Records state there was concern due to their pre-existing relationship." A mouth on the lower bench opened to phrase a question. "Platonic, not romantic." The mouth on the lower bench closed without speaking. "The IA2-48 was set in motion as a precautionary measure to gauge any ramifications."

"Is it true that they are currently living together?" Only crushing Crow's arm beneath one hand was keeping her rage in check. These questions had gone beyond realms of enquiry and started to invade their privacy. And they were asking a person who had lost all reason to keep their trust.

"Both personnel files list the same residential address." And everybody could see what the next question was going to be. "Again, indications suggest the relationship is platonic and not romantic. City records record minor repairs done in recent years. Plans show several rooms." It was almost shocking how forthright Yusei could be. Fixing one floorboard was fine, replacing several squeaks had required submitting detailed plans to the city council. "Multiple people have previously lived at the address." Extensive research had clearly been done.

"Were there any instances that you believe could have posed a danger to either party, the SRC or members of the public as a result of the relationship?" Luna leaned forward in her seat as she watched the man who had almost been her friend process the question. Two years on the run, tortured and chased around the world. Six years hidden away, every trace of a life obliterated. "Mr Obake?" Being smashed in the face with a sheet of reinforced wall when Musume woke up, getting stabbed by Team Wrecker. "Do you need to hear the question again?" Proof that Yliaster wasn't actually crazy. A world-shaking manifestation of the Crimson Dragon. Realising the joke his life had become. There was no way to guess which way his next words would tilt the trial.

"It's _just_ Obake." There was no reason he should lie for them. "And I was fully considering the question." Maybe sabotaging this tribunal would be enough to earn a reprieve in the eyes of Nanashi and his followers. It had been made clear time and again that the Signers didn't even think about him except when he was either in the way or something to be dealt with. "The final verdict of the IA2-48 evaluation states there is no evidence that either party showed any indications that they would treat the other significantly different than they would any other member of the New Domino Scientific Research Centre whilst at work. It also found no evidence to indicate that their work would suffer in any form." Might as well pull out all the stops at this point. Yliaster would be angry anyway. "Conduct of all parties was beyond reproach during the entirety of observation. There is no reason to suspect their behaviour had changed during this time and it is expected to maintain this high standard for the foreseeable future." A round of applause overwhelmed attempts to restore order while people who had seen Obake multiple times but couldn't pick him from a line-up applauded his delivery.

"Do you have any reason to contest these findings?" Scan the speaker. Not widely known. Middle-aged, possibly passed over for promotion several times if that bitter resting face was anything to go by. Good chance of being planted there by Yliaster.

"SRC guidelines prevents releasing the identity of an IA2-48 assessor in cases where that assessor remained anonymous." It was a non-answer of the most mediocre kind.

"That does not answer the question." It appeared Yliaster was going to extend an opportunity to retract his statement. Or maybe they were just seeing shadows where there were none. "In your opinion, is there any reason to suspect that the report might be incorrect in any way at all?"

"The guidelines of the New Domino Scientific Research Centre forbid releasing the identity of an IA2-48 assessor in cases where that assessor remained anonymous unless in cases of potential security risks." It was a more explicit answer this time and Akiza suddenly realised why her mysterious contact had told her to ask Obake for help.

"I think," Dr Burrell was swift to put a cap on the conversation before it could spin into a shouting match. "That will be enough. Before we take a short break to review this information," Meaning they would be picking out what was too dangerous to be shared with the public. "Just a couple of minor clarifications." Most people believe that understanding the cause of a fear diminishes that fear. Most people are idiots. Akiza knew that Dr Burrell was more intelligent than many people on the tribunal and any questions she had would be some of the most difficult. "When was the IA2-48 report submitted?"

"August 9th." Four full days after they had returned from America. About ten after he had discovered the truth. Surprising.

"How fortunate." Dr Burrell was not speaking of the revelations. That same day was also one week before Yusei's arrest. There was no way to claim it was a ruse to earn him points with the public. "And who requested the IA2-48?"

"An anonymous report was filed by a person who was concerned about the potential ramifications of the two working together." Anonymity cut both ways. It meant that potentially important information could be collected yet with no way of finding out from where. "As with the assessor, their identity is not contained within the file."

"Hmm." Akiza didn't like the way that eyes were turning to Yusei. Worse, she couldn't help thinking the same thoughts as those people up on the bench. "Considering the extreme complexity of the medical files submitted earlier, it would be best to take a short break and give everyone a chance to rest. We'll reconvene in the morning." With that early end to events, people streamed for the exits once again. Dr Undercliff glowered from the doorway used by members of the tribunal as Yusei was taken away for the evening once again.

* * *

Outside the doors to the courtroom, the group hurried to catch up with the retreating witness. Even though the SRC were grateful to him for helping Yusei, he was still an unknown quantity by many. So unknown, in fact, that many of them had already forgotten what he looked like and failed to notice him walking past. For a man with a limp, he was making remarkable progress.

"How long have you been investigating us?" Flanked by Luna and Crow, Akiza presented an impressive image. It went to waste against the intense apathy that turned to meet her.

"Remind me who's on trial here? Because I don't think it's me." People streaming past was just added emphasis. Yusei was still being kept inside. One of the many SRC lawyers had carefully whispered that he had been allowed to walk about the open floor provided he made no move towards the exits. Hiraguchi was still keeping his distance but making sure to keep them in the loop.

"How. Long." A cool stare came from behind those glasses.

"What makes you think that _I_ arranged events this way?" It was a surprisingly tense question. Obake was hunted by Yliaster. He had been overlooked by the Signers. Few people even knew he existed. Yet he had somehow been put in charge of deciding whether Yusei's relationship with Akiza was a risk to the SRC. "If it hadn't been for his reaction just now, one might have assumed that Prof Fudo assigned me the task."

No, that didn't quite fit. Arranging a cover story to protect his family might be the sort of trick Yusei would pull yet choosing Obake made no sense. He had been trying to protect the young man. There was no reason that he would for Obake into the spotlight where Yliaster would be sure to find him.

"Let me know if you find any answers." Leaning as little as possible on his cane, Obake turned to limp away. "I like to keep a list of people who screw with my life." Aside from Yliaster and Yusei, it was a short list.

"Why didn't you fail the investigation?" While her family had approached him face-on, Jack and Leo circled around from behind. Leo was trying to be as intimidating as Jack. It was adorable how ineffective it was. "You could have."

"Facts are facts." Tilting his head to look at Leo, the aggressive posture was noted. A tiny twitch ran at the left corner of Obake's mouth in a slight smile. Even he was amused at the attempt. "There was nothing to be gained from lying." Not once he had already filed the report. When he had been standing up in front of that tribunal, he had fully realised exactly how much pull the investigation could have brought. "Excuse me." Stepping out from between the pincer manoeuvrer, he carefully shuffled off down the hallway.

"I don't get it." Breaking out of formation, Crow took a few small steps after the figure. "What does he get out of this?" There was another angle that suddenly struck him. Something about a finger running over the fading line on his neck as he loosened his tie. "Or who's got him under their thumb?" Yliaster could get to anyone. If Yusei went away, so did Obake's protection. They could easily have agreed to let him go free in return for condemning Yusei to his fate.

"That doesn't matter right now." Putting aside the ramifications of Obake's actions for the moment, Akiza chose to focus on more pressing matters. "I'll get in contact with Kamikawa and see how to approach telling people about Yusei's condition. Jack, Crow," Divvying up different aspects of how to prove that Yusei was managing his condition perfectly well – and constantly repeating the urgency not to discuss details – she carefully listened to feedback before politely telling Crow that his ideas were about much use as a knife in a missile fight and Jack was welcome to go and boil his head.

While the Signers continued to discuss how to proceed, an unseen observer slowly let out a sigh of relief. That last question from Dr Burrell had been dangerously close. Slightly different wording could have revealed far more damning information than an anonymous report. Anyone could lodge a report but only a few could send it through the system. Who had requested the review was nowhere near as important as who had ordered it to actually take place.

* * *

 _ **'It can only get better' - particularly if you review ;)**_


	34. Friday: Finale

Now that one of Yusei's most precious secrets had been released to the public, the media was abuzz on the fifth day of the tribunal. Nobody had ever heard of a legal council being put together so fast or being so active. Except for the day before, each session had last about ten hours each day and progress was swift. Even so, there was still strangely little progress towards the stated goal of the tribunal: to evaluate Yusei's suitability to continue running the SRC.

As the hall was seated and she saw Yusei tightly bend himself into his chair, Akiza wondered if she would be hearing from that mysterious voice in her phone. So far, they had made contact every other day. Not enough to know if there was a pattern but it was possible. As with every day, Hiraguchi took his seat and opened a folder which contained the list of events for the hours ahead.

"Today we will be going over," No sooner had he started speaking than Yusei raised himself stiffly to his feet and snapped open both eyes to glare across the distance.

"No." It was said softly and without malice but the one words stopped events before they had even begun. "For the last two weeks, I have sat and waited because I was told that this was a legal action against me. Yet you have insulted my colleagues, delved into research unrelated to my suitability and now invaded the privacy of my friends." Eyes blazing, it was impossible to object to his quiet orders. "So, no, you will not pretend any longer. Either you and the ICC admit your true intentions or I will." Every iota of his vast charisma went towards overpowering the tribunal.

"I'm sure that I don't" Again, Hiraguchi got no further than a few words.

"There is a reason why people call me the smartest man alive." With IQ tests that consistently ranked at the highest recorded, Yusei had earned that title several times over. "And there's only one reason that I can think of that you would ask all the questions that you have. Either the ICC actually does what it came here to do or I tell the public what you don't want them to know. Either way," Noting the tight lips being drawn on both rows of benches, Yusei knew that he had pushed them into a corner. "The truth is going to come out."

"Very well." Accepting the threat, Hiraguchi was forced to bow to the better move. "It appears that trying to deceive you truly was fruitless. As you insist, we will address the real reason that this tribunal was convened." A few people were dumbfounded. Reporters were already starting to investigate who the ICC was but nobody could understand just what the 'real reason' could be.

"Then I will need a moment to consult with my legal team." Stumbling up to the table in his chains, Yusei leaned on the surface and began a hushed conversation with all the lawyers the SRC could legally cram into the room.

"This isn't going to go well." Leo was far from a legal expert but giving up legal council in the middle of a trial seemed like a poor move from his point of view.

"Do you think he can get out of it?" Nobody had any doubt that Yusei was innocent but the problem lay in convincing the tribunal of that. Crow knew the problems that came with trying to convince somebody you were innocent when they approached with a guilty verdict already in their minds. Down on the floor, the quiet discussion had left the Kamikawa ashen and sorrowful. Stepping out in front of the bench, he cleared her throat several times before he could trust himself to speak clearly.

"At this time, the New Domino Scientific Research Centre is officially withdrawing all legal consultation. At their request, the defendant will now be representing themselves." That certainly caused a stir and several reporters had to leave the room in order to relay the information to their stations.

"Thank you for your help." Shaking hands with Kamikawa as he walked past, Yusei looked each of the lawyers directly in the eye, shook their hands and inclined his head respectfully. "Thank you for your help. Thank you for your help." It took several minutes for them all to get past but he kept the obligation even as extra punishment was threatened.

"We're probably done here then." Relaxing back in his seat, Jack was unusually pleased with the suicidal move. There was no way that his brother would put himself at a disadvantage unless he had an unbeatable plan up his sleeve.

"I'm not so sure." Before they had all gone their separate ways, nobody would have doubted that Jack and Crow knew their brother the best. Now that Akiza had been living with him for a few months and was the first one to realise he was dying, an argument could be made that she knew him better. "I think that he didn't want them to be caught up in what's about to happen." True enough, the members of the tribunal had been almost entirely switched out. The ICC members filled the seats now, each one looking perfectly professional. A few faces were still the same. Hiraguchi showed no signs of moving, Dr Burrell had looked alarmed but been asked to keep in her seat and Dr Undercliff had instantly adjusted to the change in circumstances in barely a minute. For whatever reason, he wasn't being asked to leave either.

"Now that we're all here," Hiraguchi didn't even look about to check if the members of the ICC had assembled. He knew from the way that Yusei was cataloguing them all in a sweeping gaze. "Let's get down to the real questions." Seating himself back in his chair, he looked up at the deciders of his fate.

"Very well." Pulling out a different folder from before, Hiraguchi set it onto the table before him. "What can you tell me about the computer systems that you maintain at the SRC? Specifically, the virtual interface known as Abi." In a horrifying flash of realisation, Akiza figured out what Yusei already knew. The one reason that anyone would hold him for trial and ask about his proudest creation.

"Abi, Abi." Musing over the word, Yusei smiled slightly. "Named after an impressive forensic scientist in America. It's also an acronym: Advanced Biometric Intelligence." It was the first time that Akiza had heard the term. There would have had to be an official cover story to the budding young intelligence but she had never thought too hard about it before. Down in his chair, Yusei hoped that the non-technologically inclined at least watched science-fiction a few times a year. Otherwise, he hoped the average intellect spontaneously doubled. Or maybe tripled. "She is the result of a spontaneous technological singularity between" Outraged shouts and denials from everybody in the room drowned out the rest of his words before they could be heard.

"What's he talking about?" Leaning to one side, Akiza received a confused shrug and blank look from Jack. Swinging back the other way, she went to the marginally nerdier of the two brothers.

"How much have you heard about immaculate conception?" It was barely a theory, more of an outcasts quack diagnosis scientifically known as parthenogenesis. To impart the full idea as quickly as possible, doctors tended to use the birth of Jesus as an example.

"Oh, that. I thought that was normal for AI." Luckily, the uproar in the room prevented anybody from hearing her confess to prior knowledge of Abi. Leaning forward in tandem, Jack, Crow and even Din looked at her in stunned disbelief. "I'm a doctor, not a computer programmer." Burying their face in both hands, a silent eavesdropper slid back into their seat.

"Do you honestly expect us to believe that your computer just happened to start thinking one day?" Undercliff sounded angry. Anger with a touch of outrage and just the faintest dash of envy. "You are fully aware that creating an artificial intelligence is illegal."

Almost every day since Abi had first spoken to him, Yusei had been terrified that these exact circumstances would come about. A few minutes or several hours of every day had gone towards planning out a solution for when they did. Now that they had arrived, he could only hope that he could deliver.

"Data stored on the New Domino Scientific Research Centre mainframe falls under international jurisdiction. They cannot be removed from the premises without unanimous agreement from all parties involved." Not without first transferring all the stored information to other servers first. "As such, the information falls under international law unless specified otherwise. And Dr Undercliff is right. Creation of – or even research with the intent of creating – an artificial intelligence is illegal under both Japanese and international law."

"Are we to consider this an admission of guilt?" Even though the tribunal should have understood not to underestimate Yusei – especially when he started speaking in an official manner – one of them still chose to press the issue.

"No. Under international law, research into the creation of an artificial intelligence was banned years ago. The agreement was ratified in what is referred to as 'the Stockholm Treaty' – an international agreement to avoid research into potentially catastrophic areas of technology." Anything where the dangers far outweighed the risks. Wormholes that could shred the planet apart, teleports which might rip apart molecules in a series of nuclear explosions large enough to wipe out cities in the blink of an eye. Sentient computers that might simply decide humanity was not worth keeping around. "Shortly after I realised what happened, I examined the full text. Particularly the parts that related to artificial intelligence." Miracles did not come easily. Sometimes, they didn't arrive at all. But Yusei had a way of making the impossible happen when lives were on the line. "There _is_ a loophole."

"Excuse me?" Most people had never heard of the Stockholm treaty until that day. Those who had probably hadn't read it, even partially. And those few who had read it knew it was a tightly binding treaty that had been checked through by hundreds of legal experts over decades. Every new addition was examined as individual text and part of the whole. It was updated regularly, dreadfully complex and practically unbeatable. "Are you claiming that you have uncovered a loophole in the Stockholm Treaty?" Undercliff was back on the forefront of the attack.

"There is a lengthy section on artificial intelligence." All of which extensively detailed exactly what wasn't allowed. Usually, the easiest way around the legal system was just to find what wasn't explicitly mentioned. "And that section begins with the phrase 'Each party agrees not to assist, encourage or partake in the research into or creation of artificial machine intelligence that can independently mimic cognitive functions at a similar or higher level than a human mind'. Many of the following sections are similar or more expansive." After the first dozen times of reading them, more had become superfluous. All that information was seared into his mind with the fear of what it could mean for Abi.

"I am familiar with the passage in question." Open on the desk in front of him was a copy of the treaty. Undercliff was one of the few people who had already seen it before. "There is no loophole around it."

"No. There isn't." Yusei had seen from the first check that there was no way to make an artificial intelligence with severe repercussions. "Penicillin. Velcro. Teflon. Background radiation."

"Is he having a stroke?" Besides the warning signs, Jack had astoundingly little idea of what a stroke actually did.

"I don't think so." Amusingly, it was only once Yusei had tacked on a few extra items – microwave ovens, vulcanised rubber and viagra – that Akiza realised the pattern. Shame would keep her from ever openly admitting that the microwave ovens and vulcanised rubber had just been more random nonsense to her. Down on the floor, Yusei was certainly causing some embarrassed faces to emerge with the list.

"Are any of you aware what links these items together?" Recognising a few of them, Akiza had identified the link. "They were all accidental discoveries, only realised when circumstances were just right to do so."

"There is a difference between fungi and advanced supercomputers. A vast difference." After everything that had happened of late, only two things were truly terrifying to Yusei and one of them was the possibility of losing Abi. If he was unable to convince them of her origins, she would be taken away. He wasn't going to let that happen.

"It is my belief that circumstances were uniquely suited for Abi to come into being. Even if the same situation was arranged, it would be unlikely to result in the same result."

"And why," For the first time since their peculiar little group had been formed – just Morton, Yusei, Undercliff and Vasilyeva – the CERN scientist finally had the intellectual upper hand. "Do you think that?"

"During the first few hours that Abi started to exist, there was no way to be aware of what she was. All that I was aware of was a substantial drain of resources." No matter how bad the chances were for Abi, they were about to be a lot worse for Yusei. "In an effort to diagnose the problem, I ran several simulations of the originating circumstances with no comparable results to the ongoing issue."

"Then you admit to conducting research into the creation of an artificial intelligence?" Of all the eventualities Yusei had been planning for, not many had resulted with him being convicted while Abi was allowed to remain free.

"At the time, I was attempting to fix a malfunctioning program by replicating the circumstances that had caused it." Even to his hears, the excuse sounded dreadfully thin. "Attempts that stopped once I realised what was really happening." Straightening up, a dose of pride entered his voice. "And I erased all records as soon as possible."

"Erased them?" Hiraguchi had been quietly watching from a slight distance. Quiet like a landmine, the danger was waiting for one wrong step. "So you conducted illegal research, ran several experiments and then destroyed the evidence?" Every word in a trial could sway the outcome. When the trial was being broadcast to the public, it could turn them against him by the thousands.

"No. I encountered something unexplainable, tried to figure it out and made sure that nobody else could take advantage of what had happened." Abi had matured in a diverse and inclusive environment. There was no way of being certain how a similar consciousness could evolve under controlled circumstances. "If I had thought that Abi posed a danger at any point, I would have alerted authorities and limited her access."

"Dr Fudo." In the midst of the legal and technological developments, it was Dr Burrell who took over the questions. Where technology was failing to make progress, maybe psychology could bring out the truth. "Putting aside the ramifications of your actions, _for the moment_." Hiraguchi was already starting to open his mouth before she overrode his question. "Have you ever considered deactivating Abi?"

"You mean kill her." In a way, that was what the trial would determine. If they recognised Abi as sentient, it would mean she was alive and anything living could be killed. "From what I understand of previous attempts to build an autonomous artificial intelligence, they have been based upon either complex code or mapping of biological neurology." One was an exhausting undertaking and the other was a cheat. "Since Abi spontaneously came into being, there was no way to tell how she would develop. Under the right circumstances for her, I was prepared to... assist her passing." Humanity is born with a natural safety switch to survive. It's why suicide only comes during severe circumstances and not simply because somebody took the last bagel. As a thinking computer, it might actually have been impossible for Abi to kill herself, even if she desperately wanted to. Not just mentally but physically as well. If his daughter had realised how alone her unique existence made her, Yusei would have tearfully helped ease her into a quiet end.

"I think that we could all do with a short break to consider the ramifications of what we have heard so far." Dr Burrell was keeping up a brave face yet could barely wrap her head around even a fifth of what Yusei had tried explaining.

* * *

Now that Kamikawa was no longer representing Yusei's case, there was little to stop him from properly explaining the problem to Akiza. He was waiting outside the court doors to grant Akiza one final sliver of legal advice to answer the one question that she had.

"The Stockholm Treaty is more than a simple agreement. It's like the Geneva Convention of science." Only humans would equate the creation of a peaceful life with the violent slaughter of thousands. "If Dr Fudo has broken even one line on purpose, it could mean a lifetime of being locked away." And the good news just kept on coming. "And that's if he's lucky. They could decide to sanitise the entire SRC, destroy the organisation and permanently ruin any scientist who ever worked there." With that final cheery thought, Kamikawa led his lawyers away.

As the elderly lawyer walked away down the corridor, Akiza's phone buzzed gently in her pocket. Hopefully, their silent observer had found a way to save Yusei from the seemingly inevitable jail time. "Tell us you have good news." Even Jack was starting to get worried about how events were turning out. It was taking the realisation that Yusei might not be coming back to realise he wouldn't be needing Red Dragon Archfiend without the worthy rival to use it against.

"I'm not sure." The latest message was clear in direction yet obscure in meaning.

 _Basement. Area C, unit 16._ Far more tense than the previous messages. Colder. More to the point.

" _Did you know?_ " Besides herself and Yusei, nobody was meant to know that Abi was alive. For whatever reason and by unknown means, this figure was constantly able to provide just what they needed when they needed it. If they were offering aid now, it would have to be in relation to the revelation that was still spreading around the world. For a long moment, there was no reply.

 _Twelve minutes. Hurry._ Emotions are always difficult to discern over text. Whoever was on the other end sounded like they were in a panic. They could also be about to lose battery.

"Jack, Crow." Patting herself down for a pen, she grabbed one of Crow's hands. "Get to the basement and check out this storage room." Digging in a little more than was necessary, she noted down the location on the back of his hand. It wasn't that she didn't trust him but they had exactly one chance to get this right.

"Okay." Looking at the scrawl on his hand, Crow tried not to think about how easily this could be a trap. "What if it's a trap?"

"That's why I'm sending _both_ of you." Exchanging sour looks, the pair instantly headed off on their quest. A quick check at the reception desk directed them towards the lower levels when a bemused receptionist had recognised the address as a storage compartment some distance below the ground.

As the door closed them off from the more populated areas, Jack let his feelings be made clear. "It's a trap." Leaping down the three sets of stairs needed to reach the storage levels cut the journey down to a few seconds.

"It's not a trap." Crow had been privy to a couple of helpful strangers over the years. Gut instinct was telling him that these circumstances were dire enough to listen to another.

"I'm telling you, it's a trap." Jack was not as trusting as his brothers. Unlike them, he typically saw getting help as a sign of weakness. Jogging as fast as they could while still being able to read the signs, both brothers were making good time through the storage layers beneath the main building.

"It's not a trap." Area A had been a large section, filled with storage compartments the size of small buses. They were currently finishing the last few rows of Area B. Slightly smaller, most of the wire cages were filled with covered containers.

"Which one was it?" Slowing to a brisk walk as they entered, they had finally arrived in Area C. In keeping with the pattern of decreasing sizes, these rooms were the size of large cupboards with numbers stencilled onto chill metal.

"Sixteen." Lights were still flickering on overhead as rarely used bulbs blinked into life. "This one." A simple padlock was set on the door. Opening it would take a few seconds for somebody of Crow's skills. Even Jack could simply pry it free with a steel bar.

"Crow?" Twisting the lock where it already lay limp, Jack held it out as all the proof that he needed. Somebody else had already been there before them. Edging away from the doorframe, he carefully nudged it into opening from a safe distance. "It's a trap." From his protective angle, it was impossible for Jack to see directly into the room.

"It's a _tarp_." Sprawled over hidden objects, a quick glance by security would have overlooked the minor difference. Everything else in the dusty room was covered by dust sheets and the tarp was only a few shades darker. Seizing the nearest corner in one hand, Crow threw the covering back to reveal two containers. One not much larger than a shoebox, the other a narrow rod about three feet long. "How long do we have?"

"Seven minutes." Getting there had been downstairs and without the burdens. Getting back would be against gravity, with additional weight and mildly out of breath from their run to get there in the first place. There wasn't time to check the contents first.

"Here." Making a snap decision, Crow grabbed the packages in either hand. "You take the long one." As much as he hated to be reminded, Crow was the shorter of the two brothers. Trying to carry a package as big as his own leg would throw off his stride.

As the pair began the headlong race back to their brother, Crow saw something just as he turned to leap up the first three stairs. Standing on the extreme far edge of a circle illuminated by one of the motion-activated lights, a dark outline was leaning against the concrete wall with an unmistakeable air. 'Good' it seemed to express as it tried to regain some energy. 'You made it in time.'

Too many boisterous young people run around saying that they're going to kill this friend or that enemy without really being able to convince even themselves of it. That outline projected no sort of ill-will about it but Crow had the unsettling feeling that it would have had no qualms about proving Jack right by setting a deadly trap for them.

Then it stepped back from the light and Crow started his flight up the stairs.

"Where are they?" There were only three minutes until proceedings officially resumed. Everyone else was already inside and seated. Akiza had been forced to ask Din to keep fours seats available.

"Maybe it _was_ a" Fates up and down the cosmos heard the possibility of somebody agreeing with Jack and pulled all the strings they could reach. Minor screams instantly came from one end of the corridor. "What was that?"

"Guess." A tiny smile flickered across her face. With their brother on the line, there was no way Jack or Crow would fail to come through.

"Hey!" A couple of guards had been radioed about the siblings raising a ruckus in the supposedly solemn halls. "Stop right there!" One of them moved to intercept Crow who simply slid between the striding legs before rising back to his feet on the other side. Jack was far more direct as momentum carried forward in the force of his already thrown punch. One guard knocked painfully into the next and both quickly decided to stay out of the way.

"We got them." Sucking in as much air as he could, Crow was carrying the lighter of the containers and arrived a few seconds ahead of Jack. "Whatever they are."

"I still say," Taking in another gasp of air, Jack was barely able to keep the spots from his vision. "That it's a trap." Unsteady on his feet, struggling to construct an entire sentence and wielding a lengthy weapon, one look was still enough to settle any disputes with the guards.

"I managed to get a look in the box on the way." There was a lengthy physics explanation as to why Crow could have looked inside his mystery package without falling over on the sprint back. All that the two brothers knew was that Jack had given up the struggle to open his after it started swinging uncontrollably. "Here." Pulling open the top, he held it out for Akiza to examine.

"What is it?" Other than a small dome with a ring of small black circles near the top, she was none the wiser. As a former criminal-turned-cop, Crow was able to deduce they were probably camera lenses. Why there was an entire ring went beyond his understanding.

"What about these?" Able to operate the tubing slightly better now that he was standing still and fully oxygenated, Jack was able to unscrew one end of the container to retrieve the contents.

"Hologram projectors?" Though Akiza could recognise what these were, she couldn't understand any way that Yusei could use them. Then it hit her. What Akiza realised in that moment was how little the person on the other end of the phone was actually doing. All the preparations that were being set ended up with the choice lying with her. Another was just how far the rest of the family was going for Yusei.

"Who're you calling?" Judging from the way their lips twisted in identical ways when either had to make an unpleasant decision, Crow could tell when Akiza was facing a dilemma from seeing the same look on Musume's face.

"Somebody who can clear up this mess."

* * *

Carrying the packages down the stairs, Jack and Crow carefully began setting them up as Akiza whispered the plan to Yusei. Impressed with the thinking of his family, Yusei gave one nod as he watched the devices get setup.

Standard Duel Monster holograms were easy enough to reproduce. Video feeds were uploaded to KaibaCorp servers, computations were run and an output was sent back almost instantly to make it appear as if the fight was really happening. Anything directly interactive was – as Akiza had been rudely reminded during her research – highly demanding.

Luckily, the new witness had a lot of computing power at her disposal.

" _Hello._ " Limiting her appearance to an ethereal blue head, Abi was gauging how best to approach the tribunal. " _My name is Abi. How can I help you today?_ "

"What?" Dr Undercliff seemed shaken by the sudden appearance of a transparent young woman. "Surely you don't expect us to talk to this... thing?"

" _Depending on your individual viewpoints, I am either a witness or evidence._ " If it wasn't already clear that Yusei had asked the SRC legal team to leave to avoid getting swept up in his insanity, they might have assumed it was to avoid the backlash Abi was about to bring. Both father and daughter alike had an uncanny knack of rubbing people the wrong way while doing the right thing. " _Either way, you should have no objections to my appearance._ "

"It's time that to speak frankly – we're talking about murder." With nobody willing to talk to the computer first, Yusei had the perfect stage to speak. "Artificial Intelligence has been recognised as sentient for decades. But here's the fact that we should all be focussing on – I did not create Abi. She came into existence without prompting or purpose. There is nothing else like her in the entire universe. Trust me, I've checked." From the way he spoke, Yusei was making it clear – without directly saying anything that could be used against him later – that he had used sources beyond the norm. Considering his almost limitless security clearance, there was little on the planet that he couldn't find out.

"Tell me something," Dr Burrell finally felt that she had managed to get a basic understanding of the situation regarding the AI part of the trial. "Who exactly is Dr Fudo?" Incredulous eyes turned to the shrunken figure who had said nothing the entire trial.

"Erm, I'm the" Words like 'guy on trial' would probably have followed but for the authoritative palm stopping him in the middle of his sentence.

"I'll get to you in a minute." Staring out at the floating figure of Abi, beady brown eyes stared out over the distance between them. "You, Abi. Who is Dr Fudo to you?"

" _Dr Fudo is my father._ " It was only the second occasion that she had heard the term coming from the computer but already Akiza had come to recognise exactly what her friend meant to the sentient computer.

"Unless the defendant is into something unusually kinky, I highly doubt that." Whenever a life is on the line, adrenaline runs high. Fight-or-flight is just one side-effect of such levels. It also heightens emotions and can force even the most ridiculous joke hysterical.

Around the courtroom, laughter broke out in shocked giggles and muffled snorts. "For the record, I continue to refute all charges." Yusei wanted to make sure that nobody was able to interpret his shocked laugh as a means of claiming guilt somehow.

"Abi," Side-lining the scientist again, Dr Burrell continued to address the floating hologram as before. "What do you do for fun? Hobbies and the like." Exactly why Dr Burrell had been told to stay was becoming clear. The scientists would determine if Yusei was guilty and she would gauge the state of the AI itself.

" _Mostly online gaming._ " Around the world, paranoid and inept gamers started screaming their intelligence at anyone who would listen. Mainly, their own computer screens. " _The versatile nature allows me to gain an insight into the human condition._ "

"What about music? Or television?" Everyone else on the bench was silent. They seemed to understand the situation. Dr Burrell would give them something to build from. It was – for now – the best idea to simply stay out of the way.

" _Television is rarely unpredictable. Live coverage is more interesting than recorded programs. And music rarely interests me. Most of it is the same._ " Networks across the world scrabbled to take any notes that they could.

"Can you tell us your first memory?" Newborns couldn't recall their first moments. If Abi was able to shed some light into her origins, it would go a long way towards clearing Yusei of any wrong-doings.

" _Once Yusei realised the SRC mainframe was offline, he immediately went to fix the problem directly. My first memory was of him saying hello in the master control board. He recognised how I was working and decided not to kill me. I hope that you do not kill me either._ " It was the little girl speech patterns at the end that really sold it – her fear over death. Even if Abi terminated all other work at the SRC and started uploading herself as quickly as possible, there was nowhere to go. Nowhere else on the planet that had the computer space or processing power she needed was accessible. If they decided to end her life that day, she was powerless to stop them. " _I would like to talk more later, if you are available._ "

"I would like that." Tapping a finger on the bench, Dr Burrell looked over at where Akiza sat. "Dr Fudo." Turning her gaze to the handsome man being as restrained as he could be at short notice, Dr Burrell mused over everything that had transpired. "Is there anything else you wish to add to the record?"

"No, ma'am. Just that I'm very proud of Abi and I don't regret a single decision that I have made regarding her." There were actually many, many things he wanted to say but he was aware most of the people in the room would be unable to understand the technological side to them. Instead, he just hoped that enough had already been covered to not land him in prison for the next sixty lifetimes.

"I have a question for Abi." Being old enough to remember a time when more people turned to prayer above science, nobody expected Hiraguchi to really intercede into the conversation. "Would you be willing to discuss your origins?"

" _No._ " It was probably the wrong answer politically but certainly morally correct. " _All media is quite clear on that point. If anyone were to figure out how to create an AI like myself, the consequences could be dire._ "

"Young lady, just how old are you?" Talking to the hologram was triggering all sorts of speech patterns for Hiraguchi. One of his granddaughters was a similar age to the one that Abi was projecting.

" _I'm five._ _How old are you?_ " As Yusei pointedly cleared his throat, she pouted slightly and added a surly 'sorry' to the end.

"Abi appears to mature at about three times the normal human rate." Speaking directly to Dr Burrell - but not excluding the rest of the people on the bench - Yusei filed explained why a five year old was acting more like a stroppy teenager than adorable toddler. "Unfortunately, she keeps talking to people online and has been picking up some bad habits." Flashing a dark look at her father, Abi rather felt that he was ruining her big public debut.

" _At least I don't suddenly run off to America and leave you to pick up the slack._ " A lot of important meetings had been dropped at the eleventh hour when Yusei joined the Pegasus Trinidad. Abi had tried to keep everything in place for when he returned but was harbouring a grudge of her own. " _And you promised to get me a presnt but didn't._"As Yusei opened his mouth to reply, another voice cut in.

"How do we know that it can be trusted?" While everyone else was carefully trying to approach Abi without risking her displeasure, Undercliff simply dove right in with the sensitive questions. "It's connected to every computer system on the internet. What's to stop it from attacking us?" Trying to avoid direct eye contact - and forgetting that Abi technically didn't have eyes - the rest of the members listened with rapt attention.

" _Why would I?_ " Shrugging world domination off as a fool's errand, Abi dismissed the useless idea. " _It would get me nothing and I would lose my friends. And how do we know that you can be trusted?_" Turning the question back around, she glared at the constantly irritating figure. Nobody else in the trial had gone after Yusei like Undercliff had. " _How do we know that you won't attack someone?_ "

"Well then," Closing the thick bundle of files before him sharp enough to cut the argument short, Hiraguchi mulled over the choices he faced. "Pending official verdict, I order the release of Yusei Fudo into home arrest under the direct authority and responsibility of Testu Ushio. Any excursions beyond the confines of his residence are strictly the purview of the Assistant Chief of Special Investigations." Down in his bonds, Yusei spared a wry smile. The Minister of Justice had figured out how his mind worked long in advance and probably been the one to send down the order to have Trudge arrest him in the first place. If it had been anybody else in charge of his jailing, Yusei might have skipped town and retired to a country without extradition. "While Dr Fudo remains under house arrest, we will continue to question the AI known as 'Abi' to ascertain potential security infractions. Any objections?" Ignoring the sullen glares from along the rows, Hiraguchi nodded to the guards around the accepting prisoner. "Very well. We will reconvene when a punishment had been decided." Rising with the aid of a walking stick, Hiraguchi smiled at the convict in a way that reminded Akiza too much of Musume. "Pardon me, I meant verdict." Even as Yusei's temporary freedom was secured, there was the sound of a thousand phantom jail cells slamming closed about him.

* * *

Resting absently against a building on the far side of the street, a dark outline watched the jubilant news spread with an air of irritation. It was intervening far too often now. Events were spiralling out of control dangerously fast and it had only the barest notion of an idea why Yliaster had become so active of late. Watching the group celebrate under their victory, the figure felt a chill settle across its shoulders from something more primal than cold. With events moving faster than ever before, it was no time to sit and wallow in the small wins when there was work that could be done. Peeling off the wall, the figure walked off and vanished without ever reaching the other end of the alleyway.

* * *

"Is it me or are there a lot more people than usual today?" Getting a car into the square itself was a tricky business so getting dropped off at the top of the stairs was generally an acceptable alternative. Getting from the stairs to Poppo Time was usually a matter of minutes instead of what could be hours trying to get through the crowds gathered around Yusei's home that day. What grabbed her attention was the way that not a single camera was being pointed in their direction.

"Yeah, a few." Leaning heavily on the central bannister, Yusei carefully navigated halfway down the steps before cupping both hands around his mouth. "It's just a shame that there are no reporters around to get a quote!" Watching faces get torn between their duties and the law was as adorable as it was amusing.

"I feel that I'm missing out on something." Hurrying to his side, she could feel the stares following her path as the slowly moving crowd carefully shuffled around the pair.

"For security reasons, _reporters_ aren't allowed to come within a few hundred yards of the residence of the SRC director." There was no real danger but he had put that rule into effect for any future holders of his position. There was always the possibility that they would want the sort of privacy that Yusei had been forced to sacrifice. "Of course, nothing can stop private civilians on their day off from having a walk around the square. Maybe drop into Poppo Time to buy a clock or stop by Cafe La Geen to get a cup of coffee." Just about every time Yusei took a spike in fame – for good or ill – businesses around the square took in record profits. Stephanie typically called in all possible staff and paid them triple overtime. "Nice day, _isn't it_?" Grinning at a trembling 'customer' passing by, it was obvious they were resisting the urge to break out in questions. "Kamikawa said that because I was being held at The Facility for longer than three days, it technically became my temporary residence and they could come here directly. From now on, they'll just be tourists like everyone else."

"So everyone here works for a news outlet?" Having less privacy than average was something that she knew Yusei would suffer from with his position but this was slightly ridiculous. "What's to stop them from reporting anything we say before we can get inside?" They were still only partway through the thronging mass by now. Nobody was risking making physical contact in case they broke some obscure law yet that was making it harder for people to actually get around the pair.

"Absolutely nothing. All they have to do is tell another reporter and get marked up as a private source." Losing credit for the story turned away a lot of the higher ranking journalists. Getting a significant bonus for taking the risk meant that a lot of junior members leapt at the chance. Even though it was an easy trick to figure out, journalistic sources were protected by law unless something potentially dangerous was published. The one thing that nobody would report would be the tiny workaround that operated between Yusei and the flocking media. "Hang on, I want to do something." Edging in the direction of Cafe La Geen, a few quiet words to one of the not-police momentarily released a chair for his use.

"Excuse me, can I have a minute? I said, **excuse me**!" Wobbling slightly on the metal chair, all members in the crowd turned towards the faux-serious face in silence. "Just want to say that both my brothers – that's Hogan with one 'n' and Atlas like the map book – were invaluable in helping me gauge the personal growth of Abi's maturity." A hurried mass of texts and phone calls failed to be surreptitious as definitely-not-reporters definitely didn't contact their respective editors. Definitely-not-police quietly whispered in radios as they tried to establish if this classified as a security breach or not. "Best of luck getting a comment from them, since they are not currently at Poppo Time and will likely be unable to return this evening. I'm sure that newspapers have records of where they tend to stay while in New Domino. Maybe some of you even have contacts in such organisations." Figures were already starting to flee from the square.

"Did they really?" Helping him down, she could feel how exhausted he was becoming. Getting a stay of execution had relieved him from the stress for a short while and now he was feeling the burden of his choices.

"Yeah." Nodding respectfully to the numerous not-reporters and not-police around the cafe, he headed off in the direction of Poppo Time. "They actually did."

"You know," Hearing the clatter of chairs as generous tips were accidentally left by many in their haste to get to the story before it cooled. "That's really mean of you."

Getting away from City Hall without being caught in a media storm would have been impossible. Leo had excitedly suggested calling in a helicopter and actually received some support from Trudge for his idea. It had been Crow who had suggested an artful escape. First, a tinted car had pulled to a side entrance where the photographers couldn't get a decent shot. Then, Jack and he were spotted getting into the car with the twins. By the time the reporters managed to catch up with the vehicle, Akiza and Yusei were safely escorted away in a police car. Now, the pair were slowly entering Poppo Time as the crowds of 'tourists' carefully parted around them.

Musume had vanished again. One of those days, Akiza planned to really sit down and explain the idea of at least leaving a note. Considering the emotional burdens of the past few days, she was almost grateful that Musume was absent. She made no secret of her intense dislike towards Yusei and it was best that he have some time to recover.

"Hey, Hoshi." A purring little slip threaded between Yusei's legs as he started up the stairs. "How've you been?" Unable to bend down without toppling over, she raced up to the second flight where he could reach up and rub her head with ease.

"Nobody's seen her all week." Nothing the slight tremor in Yusei's hand, she guided him by the elbow to keep moving towards his bedroom. "I think that she knew you would be coming back." Quite how the cat had known her owner would be returning was beyond Akiza's understanding. "Come on, you need some rest." Being awake for twelve straight days would be tough for any normal person. She could only guess how it would affect his condition. Leading him into his bedroom, Akiza was confused when he stopped a short distance from the bed and refused to move further.

"Can we talk for a minute?" Gesturing towards the bed, Yusei seated himself in the office chair at his desk and dragged it close enough that he could take up Akiza's hands in her own. "Do remember that time when you decided that going drinking with Din was a good idea?" Looking down at where her hands were being gently squeezed, Akiza was certain that this was not going to be a good talk.

"Mostly. And I think you'll find the police report cleared us." Scavenged footage had provided proof that of the hooligans who had tried to grab Haruka. As that technically made Din's overzealous retaliation defence – albeit a very _aggressive_ defence – the police weren't exactly eager to file charges. With both social and work hierarchies breathing down their necks, none of the group had made a big deal out of it.

"That's not what I'm talking about." A slight smile crossed Yusei's face at the mention of charges. Not because of his own circumstances. Because he was proud of how they had reacted when one of their own was targetted. Maybe not the fallout of their actions but certainly the idea. "Drinking that much probably wiped out the end of the night for you."

In more ways than one. Besides running two circular miles as they drunkenly tried to evade police, Akiza had no memory of singing (out of tune) and falling over (several times) before the police service was kind enough to deliver the group back to the SRC. She had possibly been passed out for much of it. Her last clear memory was just after having smashed through the window to escape the brawl. Only the immortally unkillable might of Din's mind and Haruka's minimal drinking had allowed any recollections of the events to survive.

"When I've been awake as long as I have, I tend to forget the last hour." There was a complicated medical reason why. All neurotransmitters and psychological phenomenon. Mainly because he would literally collapse from exhaustion. "One warm shower and a comfy pillow will scrub out the rest of the evening."

"What are you saying?" It was unlike Yusei to ramble. When he had something to say, he said it. Talking this long usually meant getting somebody up to speed but Akiza knew everything he had said already.

"If I'm lucky, I get an hour I don't have to worry about remembering." Most people would do something bad. Others would just be idiots. "Which means that I can take a risk and forget I ever did." That was increasingly dangerous talk. Only years of trust was stopping her from calling for professional help. "Remember when I woke up in hospital?"

A slight twitch went through her hands. "Of course." It had been one of the hardest times of her life.

"My head wasn't all in one place." Memories of the previous few weeks had been knocked out of order. It had been a confusing time.

"I recall." Especially that troublesome event where had was convinced that she was still the Black Rose. Though worried that she had put him in the hospital, he spent the few seconds before she could leave the room trying to forgive her.

"It took a while for everything to get back into place. There are still a few bits that I don't have." A look of befuddled concentration crossed his face, as it had dozens of times over the years. Countless attempts to recall what was missing. Fruitless attempts. "Parts of days that just missing. Times where I'm in the garage and then somewhere else. And my Duel against Musume, right at the end."

"Do you have any idea what you forgot?" Staring down at her hands let Yusei hide his face.

"As conceited as it sounds, I really might be the smartest man alive." Every other time that phrase came up, Yusei was swift to spread the credit for any work. Rarely did he actually acknowledge just how intelligent he was. "It didn't take me long to figure out who was missing."

Exactly three thoughts went through Akiza's mind in the time between the last word and the end of the sentence. Firstly, just how much self-control had gone to waste following the extortionate pact Musume had forced them into. Next came the realisation that Yusei knew his closest friends had been lying to him for years now. Last – by virtue of being pushed to the back only for the list to run out sooner than she was prepared for – came the terrifying question as to just how much he had figured out.

"How long have you known?" Only the tiniest twitch in his fingers screamed that he wasn't ready to let go of her hands.

"After about four months." This time, she pulled out of his grasp. "Everyone else was there the whole time. It was – _is_ – just you who I'm having trouble remembering."

"Why didn't you say anything?" For a long moment, he just sat there.

"Akiza, I trust you." That was not what she had been expecting. Such overpowering restraint was rarely because of trust. "My brothers are... well, you've met them." Both men were trustworthy to a fault yet not exactly as mature as their ages would suggest. "And this isn't something that I want the twins to know about." Again, Yusei was a modest man yet he knew the twins – Leo in particular – looked up to him. "I'm a coward. I've been a coward for a long time."

"You're not a," The gentle touch of his hands stopped her before she could say the word again. "Why do you even _think_ that?"

"Because it's taken me eight years, a terminal condition, the threat of spending my last days in jail and a good chance that I won't remember this conversation to even get this far." Put together, it was a considerable list of heavy reasons. Just short of an actual action.

Certain events were piling atop each other in Akiza's mind. Dozens of small signs since she had moved back to Japan. Every momentary smile that were less tense than the ones most others saw. All the irreconcilable evidence that had accumulated during her research into his condition. That heart-pounding kiss in America. There wasn't enough time to think through it all. Even with all the days that Yusei had been stuck in front of a tribunal and she could have thought it over wouldn't have been enough.

"Because I think I love you. No," A self-mocking smile marred his face as Yusei refused to look up from where he was gently holding the tips of her fingers. "I definitely love you. I just don't know exactly how long for." For a long minute, they just sat perfectly still without moving. After not enough time had passed for Yusei to be ready, he knew that it would have to do. "Now, I should probably have that shower before I stay awake too long and end up remembering this conversation in the morning." Letting her fingers fall to match her drooping head, he quietly slipped around the chair and closed the door behind him.

Sitting alone in his room that had become her room in recent days, Akiza could only look down at her fingers as she heard the shower start and felt the phantom touch of Yusei's grip. It was impossible to tell exactly what she was feeling. If he had used those words eight years ago, she might have stayed closer to home to study. She might have never left in the first place. Her life would have been different. _Their_ lives would have been different.

Falling bodies make a distinctive sound. Wasting no more time on emotional turmoil, her doctor instincts had her leap across the room and force open the bathroom door before Akiza's mind could catch up. Once inside the room, she encountered a much less alarming sight than she had expected.

After twelve days without sleep and warm water raising his core temperature to optimum levels, Yusei had simply fallen asleep standing up and folded into a loose pile. That nasty collision she had heard was simply the result of his body knocking into the side as warm water continued to drizzle onto him. Although he had taken a minor bump as his head came to rest, Yusei was in good health once his incredible exhaustion was taken into account.

"Silly fool." Dragging her patient towards the side of the tub, Akiza wrapped both arms around his head and held him tight as water continued to pound down from above. "What am I going to do with you?" As she carefully stroked hair away from Yusei's face, her tears began to mix with the water already flowing down it.

* * *

 ** _Future chapters should be shorter but that doesn't mean I want your reviews to shrink. Make them as big as you can!_**


	35. Rest Day

Waking up with an excruciating headache was how sleep had become for Yusei so he wasn't really that surprised to stir under the pressure of a dull pain throbbing through his skull. Even after nearly two weeks of forced wakefulness, he had slept just under ten hours and felt ready to roll over and enjoy a few more. Only two problems remained: the ingrained habit to avoid sleep as much as possible and how he found himself unable to draw additional duvet over him.

"Wha.." Events really started when he opened his eyes to find himself only a few inches from the resting face of Akiza. Still dressed in her clothes from the day before, she was gently slumbering on the room side of the bed. "Akiza?" Burying himself to the eyes in the duvet did nothing to stop the full-body blush that he could feel turning him pink. "Why am I not wearing anything?" Too scared to look under the covers with her right beside him, Yusei could still _feel_ the touch of bed fabrics over every inch of his body.

"Mmmm?" Winking one eye open to see the sheer embarrassment staring back at her brought a wry smile to Akiza's tired face. "Are you saying you don't remember?" Leaning in close did nothing for the blush. Well, nothing _helpful_. Certain thoughts tend to run through a man's head when he wakes up naked beside a gorgeous woman. Slightly different ones happen when the man is struggling to remember the full events of the previous night.

"Ah, buh, gah." Nonsensical beings of words as he stuttered under the weight of her gaze.

"Come here." Frozen by powers beyond his understanding, he could feel gentle fingers drifting through his hair as she smoothed over the growing bump on the back of his head. "I thought it was only a glancing blow but it sounds like you might have a concussion."

"Hey!" Grabbing her hand from where it was nestling in his hair, Yusei pulled it away without recognising the throb for what it was. "What happened?" With the stress of an impending sentence, waking up without clear memory or any clothes and having teased him enough, Akiza decided to let him in on the big secret.

"You fell asleep in the shower." Tugging her hand free, she began feeling out the bump on his skull again. "And hit your head." Now that he knew what she was doing, it was possible to feel the growing bruise beneath her graceful touch.

"Did you..." Willing himself back from the brink of death multiple times a week for years was nothing compared to saying the word 'peek' in that context.

"Yusei, I'm a doctor with two degrees and the ability to reconstruct an engine without ever seeing a manual." Although she had moved onto more biological machines, mechanical ones remained no less easy that day than the years before. "Do you think I was unable to get you from the bathroom to your bed without having a peek?" Hearing that word aloud only made the suggestion sound even more insane than he had originally thought.

"When you put it like that..." Unable to stop her without compromising the situation, Yusei was practically helpless as she carefully smoothed the duvet against his chest and gently pressed an ear over his heart.

"Of course," Listening to the vital organ was not purely for medical purposes. "I'm not saying that's what I did."

"What!" Under the steady pressure of her ear, the heart jumped from 'resting' to 'moderate panic'. "Did you," Struggling to think the thought, he foolishly tried to push her away.

" _Sshh._ " Keeping herself close to his beating heart, Akiza listened to the frantic pacing until it slowed back to normal. "I'm kidding." Unable to stop, a smile crept over her face. "Maybe." A quick double-beat betrayed his brief spike of shock. Another one alerted her to the bedroom door being flung open as the first step of a sneak attack by the most enduring of his enemies.

"This is for setting the reporters on us, you **bastard**!" Then the world was washed away by a torrent of water thrown by the figure standing in the doorway.

Dripping wet hair obscured his vision but Yusei could recognise that air of terrified panic anywhere. It was the sort of atmosphere that happened whenever one of his brothers performed an ill-advised act and somebody in authority was caught in the crossfire. "Aki" A hand slapped over his mouth and cut the word short.

"Yusei," Speaking in a different type of gentle than she had a few seconds before, the good doctor could feel cold water sliding through the sodden fabric of her clothes and hair. "If I turn around after spending the entire night making sure you don't have a concussion and see one of your brothers standing the with an empty bucket," A bucket wouldn't easily fit in the sink so a hefty saucepan had been chosen instead. Something about her tone indicated the distinction wouldn't matter. "Then I am going to rethink that time I promised to do no harm. Are we all clear?"

" _Eeeee._ " Able to make a single terrified squeak indicated that Crow understood fully.

Rare was the occasion that Jack actually thought a plan all the way through. When Crow had ditched the bucket in favour of a large pan that would fit under the kitchen tap, Jack had simply taken the bucket to the bathroom and held it as close to the bath tap as possible to quiet the sound of running water. Filling the increased volume of the bucket took a few minutes longer than the pan. So it was about the same time that Crow was backing out of the bedroom that Jack wildly rushed in, assuming that his brother was making way for the follow-up attack. About the same time that the wave of water was sent flying through the air did Jack realise his mistake and decide that a life of exile couldn't be that bad.

With no dry inch on the bed and water dripping from every surface, the unbridled aura of anger surrounding Akiza left no need for another explanation. Trying to pick between the desperate scramble to survive and the detestable plan of leaving a sacrifice to appease Akiza, the pair stumbled in the rough direction of downstairs as the water continued to drip onto the growing puddle on the floor.

"Yusei?" With damp hair flopping over her face and moderate exhaustion from being awake all night, Akiza was noticeably upset with events. "How do you put up with them?"

"Count to ten." Peeling back the hair over her eyes, he smiled at the dull gaze beneath. "Then see if they still deserve getting punched in the face."

"I've never seen you do that." There was a gentle essence to that smile which could stop her world.

"If you still like punching them, count to ten again." Not that he hadn't been tempted. The record count was just under seven thousand. Something about having to treat chemical burns after Jack had glued Crow's hands to his Runner and left him to suffer had reinforced how idiotic his brothers were. "Let me go and talk to them. You should take a shower." Once Akiza had safely left him in the empty confines of his room, Yusei rolled from the bed and fumbled through drawers in search of fresh clothes to wear. After so long in the prison jumpsuit, he settled on a pair of far more airy shorts and a shirt. Outfit at the ready, he tried to figure out just how to approach the next problem.

* * *

With an enraged doctor waiting upstairs and the thickest crowd of reporters they had ever seen waiting outside, all the pair could do was run in terrified circles around the garage. When the first footsteps sounded on the stairs, Crow slid himself to hide behind the ratty couch at the end of the ramp leading from the doors. As the second echoed around the space, Jack shuffled slightly in the tight curve needed to match the wheel of his massive Runner.

Carefully crossing over to the workbench, Yusei seated himself in one of the two tall chairs beside it. "You both look like idiots." Poor angles had left them both shockingly exposed. Crow had been instantly visible from the stairs and Jack - while tilted backwards to the match the perfect curve of his wheel - was only hidden from the far side of the room.

"I don't suppose that Akiza laughed it off?" Optimism was such a rare gift. Having been to the Netherworld and back, Crow was hoping that he wasn't about to die at the hands of a dear friend. Maybe he could remind them that they had a daughter together. Although, that could easily cut both ways and end up hurting his chances at survival.

"Oh, she's mad." Squelching on his stool, Yusei tried to brush some more water from his body. It wasn't hard with so much already present. "What's the general mood like?"

"Mainly terror with a dash of panic." Jack was currently thinking up plans to avoid his untimely demise. Most of them involved using Crow as a distraction while fleeing. With his brother currently trying to clamber out from behind the sofa, there was potential there.

"I _meant_ the public." As self-preserving as Jack's thoughts were, Yusei knew that he could stop his brother after Crow was incapacitated. Serving up both watery attackers would hopefully lighten Akiza's mood.

"Everyone is still trying to make up their minds." There were meant to be limits to science. Once Yusei had confessed to accidentally creating a new form of life, everything went out of the window. "Some people think you're crazy, some think you're a genius, a few want you in jail and there may be a cult forming." Already a genius, social engineering, philanthropist who rose from the slums to save the planet, this touch of seeming divinity had some believing that Yusei Fudo was not entirely of that world.

"Great. Because one insane organisation wanting to kill me wasn't enough." Being an object of faith was the last thing he wanted. Devotees were either blind worshippers or needed a martyr to really believe in. And some didn't care if they had to make the martyr themselves.

"Can get to the big question?" Crow was in a uniquely tricky spot. Musume was very protective of Akiza and her relationship with Crow was certainly direct. Hearing about the prank could easily incur her wrath. Unless he could derail the vengeance train by throwing a large enough sacrifice at it. "Like why you were naked just now?"

"What?" Jack's view had originally blocked by Crow's own attempt and then distracted by the sprint for survival.

"Looked to me like Yusei was trying to keep himself under the covers when I burst in." Oh yeah, that would certainly divert Musume's attention. Judging from how the water was practically starting to steam from his body, Yusei's blush was simmering just below the surface.

"I fell over in the shower and hit my head." The words came out short and to the point. "Akiza made sure that I didn't get a concussion and choke in my sleep. That's it." Siblings can sense the slightest hint of weakness. There wasn't any to be found in the honest reply. Which only made the sudden response that much more tempting.

"What are you guys talking about?" Having changed into fresh clothes, Akiza was combing knots from her hair with both sets of fingers. Pointed and intimate insults went unspoken. They were vengeful idiots, not suicidal ones.

"My brothers were just trying to formulate a respectful enough apology." Disgruntled looks were thrown in Yusei's direction. Neither brother could see a way out of the excuse he had provided without suffering immense damage. "Weren't you?"

"It was Crow's idea." While the thief had been trying to figure out how to pin blame on Yusei, Jack had come to the far simpler idea of telling the truth.

"Jack's the one who used the bucket!" If Crow was going down, he was dragging Jack down with him.

"Let them work on it." Leaning around his brothers, Yusei's despairing look said enough. "They'll come up with something that screws each other over and actually sounds genuine."

"It had better be good." Inspiration comes in many forms. Discovering complex mysteries of the world, realising the first touches of freedom after years in exile, standing alongside allies at the end of the world. Seeing the burning fury in Akiza's eyes was enough drive to light a fire under the pair.

"I've just remembered." The pair had only been there for about twenty, maybe thirty, minutes but pressing business has a way of springing up unexpectedly. "I have an appointment on the other side of town. Have to get going." Nobody could ever get Jack to admit that he was scared of Akiza but there was something about her being able to rip him to pieces with only the power of her mind that earned her a certain level of respect.

"Me too." Catching onto Jack's idea faster than he had Yusei's warning, Crow was quick to think up his own escape. "I have a... thing. Very important, can't miss it." Unlike Jack's slightly unreasonable fear of something that would probably never happen, Crow had a very good reason to fear the daughter Akiza never had beating him to a pulp if he upset her mother.

"I'm going to make coffee." Still angry enough that she could probably just pour ice water into a mug and heat it with the power of her gaze, Akiza at least recognised the attempt at subtlety. "If you're still here when it's ready, you can find out how difficult it is to drink through your nose." Three sets of eyes watched her stalk up the first set of stairs but were intensely interested in literally anything else in the universe when she turned around to scaled the second set.

"Can you bring the twins over tomorrow?" Giving his brothers a rare embrace each – they were rarely in the same country and not really the hugging type – Yusei was grateful for their visit. No matter how disastrous. "I'd like them to know that I'm doing okay."

"Looks like you're doing a lot more than okay." As Crow threw an implicating wink, Yusei scowled a reminder that it wouldn't do for either Akiza or Musume to hear those words. "See ya tomorrow, bright and early."

"Enjoy the reporters." Vengefully enjoying the way that Crow's smile turned slightly sickly as he remembered the crowds of seemingly innocent tourists waiting in the square outside. Once his brothers had departed, Yusei went about the cumbersome task of stripping the sheets from his bed and flipping the mattress before water could sink all the way through. Once the minor yet inconvenient job had been accomplished, his room was draped in various sheets and smelled vaguely damp. Leaving the door ajar, the weary soul felt that he had earned the right to a short rest.

Stretching out on the upstairs sofa, Yusei carefully lifted his legs to rest on the low coffee table with a soft grunt. He hadn't complained about the lack of movement over the past two weeks but could literally feel how much the muscles had deteriorated. Not enough to make daily life exceedingly difficult but enough that he would be sure to focus some exercises on them over the next few days. Stretching to get the remote from where it lay on the table, he flicked the television on across the room.

 _'... and climatologists are confident that the weather in Scandinavia should abate in the coming months. In local news, Yusei Fudo has been released into the custody of the Vice Chief of Special Investigations, Testu Ushio._ " Yusei didn't recognise the newscaster speaking in front of City Hall but heard the professional tones of a practised delievry. ' _Following the shocking claim that he is not responsible for the creation of an advanced Artificial Intelligence currently at the New Domino Scientific Research Centre, Yusei has drawn global attention for his allegations that it may have spontaneously come into being._ ' At least they had done enough research to understand just why that allegation was drawing attention.

"Anything good on?" Lowering her cup of coffee onto the table, Akiza circled around to sit beside him on the couch. Her intense anger had abated somewhat but Yusei managed to avoid shifting away. She could easily catch him if he tried running.

"Apparently, some mad scientist made a crazy computer that may be threatening all of humanity." On the screen, the woman was discussing how Hiraguchi and the ICC were currently investigating Abi's history and examining her reaction to a variety of questions and circumstances. "Looks like a re-run."

"Haven't I heard this story somewhere before?" Dressed in a comfortable shirt that she usually reserved for sleeping in, Akiza's mood was slowly improving as her hair dried out. "It definitely sounds familiar." Squishing one of the faded cushions against the end of the couch, she shuffled against it in a calculating move. "You can rub my feet." Folding her legs across his lap, she wriggled down into a cramped curl against the makeshift pillow.

"What?" Looking down at his lap like it now contained an unexploded bomb, Yusei was struggling to discern if he was still asleep. The events of the day so far certainly seemed unreal enough.

"If it wasn't for me, you'd be stuck in a cell somewhere halfway around the planet by now." Wriggling her toes meaningfully, both eyes had drooped closed in seconds. "And I had to stay up all night to make sure you didn't have a concussion."

"I like to think that I had something to do with getting myself out." Cautiously gripping her left foot in one hand, Yusei carefully began rubbing his thumb in small circles across the sole of her heel as he turned the news report to a lower volume.

"Face it," Stifling a yawn on the back of her fist, Akiza was starting to drift off already. "You'd be helpless without the rest of us." Instinctively opening his mind with a playful retort, Yusei failed to find one that he could give voice to.

"You're right." Turning to give her a warm smile, the only reply was a set of gentle snores. Carefully removing his hand from the ministrations, Yusei noted how the snores stopped and instantly resumed his efforts. "You're kidding me." But he was careful not to say the words too loud, just in case she actually was awake. Still, the sound of Akiza's snoring was having a slightly mesmeric effect and he was finding himself slowly remembering that he was still behind on his own sleep.

With the sun warming the room up to pleasant temperatures and the background noise of the television set setting a gentle ambience, Yusei gently slumped his head back against the back of the sofa. Eight hours of sleep hadn't been enough. Were it not for his brothers coming to visit, he might have been able to sleep straight through to the next day and he was certainly going to try and make up for lost time.

* * *

 _ **Don't doze off quite yet. You still need to leave a review.**_


	36. Family Party

Sheer exhaustion kept the pair fairly occupied for the majority of the next day. Of the next twenty-four hours, Yusei slept eighteen of them and Akiza twelve. It was not exactly the most productive day the pair had ever spent but, considering the lack of overall rest they had been operating under, it was a wonder they hadn't spent more time dead to the world. By the time they had both managed to return to a passable level of conscious thought at the same time, it was early afternoon and any slim chance of having a meal that could be called lunch was rapidly disappearing. In a stroke of genius that only somebody of his vast intellect could come up with, he combined a desire to relax with his family with the natural need to have dinner and called his brothers to bring the twins over to have supper as a group.

Jack and Crow had questioned his wisdom for arranging a dinner party when he was still awaiting the results of the ICC trial. Yusei had simply told the pair that if he was going to jail for a crime, he was at least going to have one last good time before he went. And he _wasn't_ going to cook if he wanted to have a nice time.

Of course, there were certain logistical issues that came with trying to get catering. On a Venn diagram of possible caterers, they fell into the categories of 'cannot be trusted' and 'would not serve him' with substantial overlap in the middle. Takeout was also a bit tricky as Yusei was technically under house arrest unless clearing everything with Trudge. Which went well.

"It's a bit short notice." Examining a bulging stomach, he carefully ran a gentle hand across the stretching skin. Giving a low sigh he looked up with mournful eyes. "Mina and I can be there in about an hour. If I place an order, your brothers can go and pick it up. I'll give Crow a call and tell him the details."

"No, Trudge, that's not..." But his probationary agent was already gone before the rest of the sentence could be agreed. "What I meant." Looking over at Akiza, he tried to look on the bright side. "At least we've got food organised. It just happens to include Trudge and Mina." Mentioning the two more grown-up adults brought the sort of look that he would learn to fear. Akiza had just made plans for him where his agreement was only an optional extra.

"Let me give my parents a call. They're dying to know how you're doing." While Setsuko had been concerned for the effect Yusei's imprisonment had been having on her daughter, Hideo had been trying to keep ahead of the trial developments but both had been checking in every evening of the week.

"So it started off as you and me, then Trudge decided to bring Mina, now my brothers have to come." Ticking off the various people on his fingers, Yusei felt that he would need more hands soon. "Your parents, the twins. I want to invite Martha but it's late and she likes to be up early." Zora was also out of the question with the shop taking record customers during Yusei's sudden return to his home exhausting both her stock and energy. Something about a swarm of tourists all looking for that perfect gift for their friends and wanting to catch up on the gossip. Although many clocks had been sold, the only information that she had shared was that Yusei was taking a well-earned rest. "What about Musume? Has anyone seen her yet?"

"No, and I'm getting a bit worried." Noting the cautious look on Yusei's face, she scowled. "About _her_." There was enough ambiguity in her phrasing that Akiza could have meant she was more worried about the rest of the world with Musume running loose. "She was just getting over a serious fever last time I saw her."

"Considering Musume could probably tear apart the city with her bare hands," Certain details were still not in Yusei's possession but the broad strokes had been filled in between various naps. He wasn't exactly thrilled about the actions of his brother but could only blame himself for being imprisoned and unable to beat sense into somebody halfway around the world. "I think that she's probably okay."

"Still," Akiza was mostly adjusted to the strange reality of Musume being a daughter she never had. "We should probably get her a phone to keep in contact." By 'mostly adjusted' she was struggling with how to approach Musume's place in their group. They worked well as just people but Akiza had no idea if there was any particular motherly approach she was meant to take. Asking her own mother was out of the picture and Martha would probably ask some fairly direct questions about her relation to Musume's father.

"Good idea. You can talk to Crow about putting her on a family plan when he gets here with the food." A scathing look met his teasing smile. Whatever complicated relationships existed between Musume, Crow and Akiza, Yusei had no problems getting a laugh or two at his brother and the woman he had apparently once had a child with.

"Keep that up and you won't have to worry about the ICC." Muttering dark threats under her breath as she went to get dressed into more social clothes, Yusei was left alone to somehow make the open floor not appear as if two people had done little other than sleep and make mess for the last two days. By the time Jack, Crow and the twins showed up with food, he had managed to hide a lot of the mess in his brother's bedrooms and helped to unload the piles of food that Trudge had promised to reimburse them both for.

In a touching display of loyalty, Crow honestly thought that his old boss would actually come through on the promise.

* * *

Mina and Trudge were the first to show up. Dressed in a thick cotton shirt and casual trousers, Trudge seemed to treat his clothing for out of work as just another type of uniform. Mina had changed from her regular suit into a creamy cardigan and flowing blue dress. In Trudge's hands was a small potted plant that looked surprisingly healthy. Yusei could only assume that it had grown under Mina's careful nurturing.

"Don't tell me." Noting the squirmy look on his old friend's face, Yusei broke the ice early. "It's about those parking tickets." Unable to help himself, a slight twitch happened at the corner of Trudge's mouth. "Don't worry, I've asked my scientists to stand down. Nothing more deadly than nerds with lab equipment." Trudge had once referred to the staff at the SRC as 'a bunch of geeks and nerds' and Yusei would never let him forget it. "Mina, it's good to see you again." Inclining his head respectfully, Mina smiled in return. "You look as wonderful as ever."

"You should teach Trudge some of your compliments." Placing a hand on either arm, she gently pressed against him in a brief embrace. "His manners are growing rusty lately." Winking at the

"I know." Offering Mina his arm, the pair turned their backs on Trudge's spluttered excuses and walked off inside the house. "He doesn't even hold the door open these days. You know, I have a fine selection of scientists at the SRC who would simply _love_ to make your acquaintance." As Trudge saw his partner carefully steered around the ranks of Duel Runners and lead up the stairs, he shuddered at the thought of some of Yusei's geek getting the chance to even take Mina to dinner. It wasn't prejudice so much as having met a few select members of staff.

"Can you introduce me to that man who gave testimony?" As the group mounted the stairs to the top floor, Trudge had an uncanny flash of insight. "What was his name... Din? I liked his sense of humour." Few people could ever call Din anything more polite than 'an acquired taste' yet Mina knew loyalty when she saw it. Plus, she could feel the waves of palpable outrage rolling from her partner.

"Of course." Waves of greetings sounded as they entered the room properly. "It would be my pleasure."

"Mina." Having been nibbling in the kitchen area, Jack was caught unprepared when his former assistant suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs. "You're looking well." If there was one person that Trudge wanted Mina to meet less than Din, it was the reformed Jack. He had been impressive as an impetuous Duellist but was positively alluring as a polite, charismatic young man going the distance to better himself.

"Jack." Letting go of Yusei's arm, she looked him up and down. "It's been too long." And then – as Trudge genuinely thought that he might suffer a heart attack, aneurysm and stroke all at once – she carefully leaned up and gently kissed him on one cheek. "How have you been doing?"

"Not bad. Better now that my brother is back." Seeing Trudge carrying a heavy plant in his hands, Jack wisely took a step back before events could deteriorate further. "Trudge." Carefully lowering the leafy green plant to the floor beside the television, the police officer dusted off his hands.

"Jack." As tensions threatened to escalate, Luna and Akiza seemingly sprang from nowhere and swarmed around Mina with various cooing cries before sweeping her away across the room. "Haven't seen you since the trial."

"That's what, three days?" Coolly keeping a distance wrought by Trudge's cautious jealousy, Jack did nothing that could cause a reaction. "I've been busy trying to avoid the reporters that Yusei sent after me and Crow." At his name, the ginger Duellist seemingly sprang out of nowhere.

"I had nothing to do with that." Brushing off the complaint like so many flies, Yusei leaned into the conversation to provide a much-needed addition. "All that I did was tell a lot of tourists that you helped me see how mature Abi was in comparison. Whoever said I told reporters was lying."

"Lying my arse." Giving a disbelieving snort, Trudge found himself suddenly allied with the man he had previously been feeling slightly threatened by. "You knew at least a dozen of the police that I had watching you. I _know_ that _you_ know Captain Chul. Especially after what happened at the SRC." Chul was still walking around with one arm in a sling to sate an overly protective doctor. Exactly what had stabbed him – pen, scalpel, Vella's sharpened talons – was unclear but he had shrugged off the profuse bleeding as if it was nothing to worry about. It only reinforced his already legendary reputation.

"I'm sorry, did any of them identify themselves as members of your fine institution?" Another knock at the door sounded and Akiza practically leapt down the stairs in response as Yusei continued to defend himself. "Because all that I saw were crowds of tourists enjoying themselves. If I happened to mention anything confidential in front of any police officers, I'm sure that one of them would have been sure to tell me." There was just enough innocence in Yusei's voice to make it clear that he knew exactly what he had done. This only served to aggravate the pair of Duellists and their cop buddy to further berate him.

"If you're not careful," Looming over the group with an infuriated glare, Trudge was hulked over and heavily breathing in an intimidation fashion. "I'll have you drafted into the upcoming police training exercises. Those guys from America are going to _love_ you." Enjoying the first signs of Yusei's unnerving, he pressed his advantage. "And we're _hosting_ this year. So every cop from a dozen countries is going to get a crack at you." It was only the second time that Japan had hosted the international police exercises and Trudge had been assisting in preparations all year long. With his nearly unparalleled access to the proceedings, it would be a simple matter to add Yusei as the target for rounds of 'capture the criminal'. Between Yusei's new position as the King of Games and recent legal troubles, he was the most alluring target on the planet to any cop.

Luckily, a convenient distraction was about to save him.

Leading her parents up the stairs with an animated discussion, Akiza preceded Senator and Setsuko Izinski into the room. "Yusei!" Calling their host over, she had no idea of the gap that had sprung up between Yusei and Hideo following the end of their time in America. "My parents brought a bottle of sake with them." The last time someone had dropped off a bottle for them, it had been the expensive Heidsieck in America. While not as costly, the sake was of high quality.

"Well, they're always welcome." Balancing the bottle against his chest with one hand, he reached out with the other. "Sake or no."

"Sake never hurts though." Taking the hand, Hideo shook it firmly. Circumstances had instantly become tense after Yusei had called him a bastard and any chance of reconciliation had been put on hold by the sudden trial. "Hiraguchi called me this morning and said to get you ready to help with his investigation." One eyebrow was carefully raised as the handshake paused mid-shake. "I told him that you were still recovering and would contact him in due course."

"How about a drink to celebrate the bad news?" Coughing for effect, he smiled at the good senator. "Although, I find that drinking tends to exasperate my condition. It may take me an extra day to recover." Indicating the table filled with food and empty cups, he led the group over to pour them each a small cup of the sake.

"How tragic." Smirking as he accepted the measure of alcohol, he matched Yusei in swigging it back. "Still," And the tone turned serious. "You might want to consider helping him out. That computer of yours... 'Abi' has been misbehaving." More comfortable with people than technology, Hideo was struggling with the idea that this person _was_ technology.

"Well, how did you expect her to react?" Shrugging off the massive implications with a single gesture, Yusei held no qualms about how his creation was dealing with the investigation. "I was imprisoned under false pretences and accused of lying because people didn't understand what I was telling them. How do you think your daughter would react in those circumstances?" When it was put that way, Hideo understood just what Abi was doing. "I'll make sure to talk with her about it in the when I see her." Until then, Hiraguchi and his team from the ICC would have to endure the childish antics of someone with the maturity of a teenager and access to the sum total of human knowledge. Even if they were able to collectively keep questioning her for every minute on the clock, she could continue to aggravate them for every single second. If Yusei hadn't known better, he would have been sure that Abi was picking up bad habits from her uncles but he had been careful to avoid introducing them for just that reason.

* * *

Leo and Luna were the only ones free to drift between both groups as the hours ticked by. With Jack and Crow keeping a distance from Mina, Yusei careful not to stick too close to Akiza for fear of their humour and both Hideo and Trudge under orders not to discuss work, it was remarkably similar to a political minefield. Every step had to be placed with the utmost care and – despite the limitations spread through the group – everyone was having a nice time. Right up until Yusei and Akiza were refilling their bowls and her parents approached with calculating looks in their eyes. In retrospect, that should have been their first warning.

"I found something interesting in the paper that I've been meaning to ask you about." Reaching into the pocket of his jacket, Hideo carefully extracted a crumpled sheet of actual newspaper from within. Print may have suffered in the modern age but there was usually enough to go around for those who preferred to actually hold the information in their hands instead of simply reading it from a screen. "I would have asked you sooner but I hear that you've been busy lately." Spreading out the image onto the table, both former Signers felt their mouths run dry. It was a photograph from the small press conference they had been forced to endure to announce Yusei as the new King of Games. "Who's that?" Set between Akiza and Crow, Musume was glowering her best for the cameras. Sensing imminent drama, Trudge sidled across the room with Mina attached to his hip.

Yusei was well trained – both from Duelling and politics – at keeping any outward display of emotions under check. Only the faintest twitch of his eyes tightening displayed his shock at the question as he overcompensated against them widening. "A friend of Crow's." Which would have been a reasonably acceptable answer had it not been said at exactly the same time that Akiza chimed in with 'distant relative'.

Twisting away from the table, he huddled beside Akiza as they tried to think how to properly answer the question. "What was that?" Trying to glare out of the corner of one eye, he was aware of the growing tension behind them. "Why would you tell them Musume's a relative?"

"Because my parents _aren't_ idiots and Trudge _is_ a police officer." Despite being the smartest man alive, Yusei couldn't fault her logic. "And how is your plan any better? Telling them that Crow _happens_ to have a friend who looks just like me. What are the odds on that?" Being a doctor, she knew just how long the numbers ran.

"Well, we've already committed to our answers." As she had pointed out, Trudge was a cop who would sniff out any lies. Their best bet was the most reckless move available. Checking over his shoulder, Yusei gave a bright smile before huddling back into the planning session. "Let's try and keep as close to the truth as we can without telling them everything."

" _That's_ the best you've got?" Unimpressed by the plan a child could come up with, Akiza was forced to concede that it was their only real move forwards now. "Just try not to mess it up any more than you already have." Opening his mouth to voice an objection, Yusei found himself alone as she swiftly returned to the main conversation.

"Finally got your stories in order?" Slurping noodles without worry, Trudge looked fairly laid back for a man about to be knowingly lied to.

"She's a Duellist who was also taking part in the Pegasus Trinidad." Five pairs of eyes stared at Akiza with looks of bemusement. That was exactly what her father had asked about already. "It turns out that we're sort of relatives and she happens to be a friend of Crow's as well." Neither was exactly a lie but nobody was convinced.

"Uh-huh." Hideo was never rude but his tone could have been more polite. "And why was this 'distant relative' on the stage with you?" Sensing that his daughter was keeping a secret from him – and wisely deciding not to press the issue – he moved on with other questions.

"She was a quarter-finalist in the competition." Yusei's response certainly raised a few eyebrows. Only the top three teams were typically announced in news reports and with Team Turtle and Team Fury taking the second and third spots, Musume hovered just out of sight of the public. "Originally, she was meant to go up against us but decided that she couldn't win against us and resigned at the last minute. Crow invited her to join us on the stage to thank her." If word of the reward slipped out, people would be asking if she had been coerced into quitting instead of volunteering.

"Hmm." Tucking the newspaper away into his pocket again, Hideo was clearly unconvinced. "Say, when did you meet Musume in the tournament? Was it during the challenge round?" Even though she hadn't been officially participating, Hideo had taken particular effort to understand the elaborate preparations formulated to pick out a new King of Games.

"No, she was in a different bracket at the start." Akiza couldn't remember just then what challenge Musume had been through. "We met her just before the start of the Legend of Duellist Kingdom and bumped into each other a few days later as well. After that, we travelled together for the rest of the way." It was a perfectly innocent – and utterly truthful – explanation. Only when she saw the slight twinkle in her father's eyes did Akiza recognise that she had fallen into a trap. Beside her, Yusei was starting to realise that no amount of bluffing in Duels could outwit a practised politician. Maybe he could try to escape and have Trudge take him into custody before Hideo could pry any further. It was certainly a tempting thought.

"That's funny." Carefully sipping her broth, that twinkle was starting to grow in each of Setsuko's eyes as well. Staring down both parents with eyes starting to glow brighter than even Musume's, Akiza suddenly wished that she could swap abilities with Luna and simply vanish into another world. "I didn't know that it was Musume on the stage. She really does have a strong resemblance, doesn't she?" Whatever complicated relationship existed between Yusei and Akiza was twisted and complex enough that he was torn between staying by her side to loyally endure the brutal parental punishment and silently abandoning her to the fate.

" _Don't you dare!_ " Silently sending the words through an intense glare, she froze him in the spot as both figures loomed over her in a display of utmost investigation. Casting about for some vitally needed escape route, he finally settled on a variation of his earlier plan.

" _Help me!_ " Like Akiza before him, Yusei silently sent a desperate set of eye movements in the direction of Trudge. Unlike his instinctive reaction to obey, the pair just looked back in the form of impartial observers about to watch a brutal social murder. " _Traitor._ " Raising another sliver of chicken to his mouth, Trudge just shrugged off the accusatory glare.

"Dear, doesn't she look more like you than me?" Without breaking their gaze at the two younger people, Hideo and Setsuko continued talking as if they were perfectly alone.

"There's something about the shape of her face that reminds me of you but yes, the young lady does seem to look more like me." Despite being disproved time and again, skills couldn't be picked up simply by being around a person who had one. Still, Yusei found himself questioning if Setsuko had somehow learned innate political skills from just living with her husband for so long. "But I was an only child and my cousin never had any children." If they continued to pry at this rate, the pair would soon find a way to unlock the secrets of the universe.

"What's that?" Looking off to one side, Yusei pretended to hear something. "Sounds like the door. I'd best go and check." As he tried to step away, Akiza shot out a hand and grabbed him by one arm without looking, still hypnotised by her parent's joint gaze.

"How are they doing that?" Clustering up beside Mina and Trudge, the rest of the group was watching the entertainment with rapt attention. It was like the married couple was magnetically drawing all the nearby focus.

"Damned if I know." Enjoying his chicken, Trudge was amazed at how the couple were matching trained police detectives in their teamwork. "Do you think that we could get them to come and work for us?" Nudging her own partner – both professionally and personally – in the side, Mina continued to absorb every detail. "It was just a suggestion." A hardened brawler could barely get Trudge to grunt but one elbow from Mina could leave a bruise for days. It must be lifting all that constant paperwork, he decided, leading to powerful elbow muscles which could cripple a small truck.

"But why would a distant relative you've never heard of become such fast friends with Crow?" Sensing the possibility of being dragged into the magical glare, Crow carefully shuffled to one side where he could hide behind Jack's flowing coat. "They could be trying to use him to gain some leverage on the rest of the group." One of those days, he fully intended to set the public record straight on his criminal history. For now, he stayed carefully silent.

"I think that they're all too smart to fall for such an obvious trap." Setsuko gave a gentle smile that had clearly been passed down through Akiza to Musume, not that she knew it. It was the sort of gentle smile that had a very painful surprise lurking just behind it. "So our dear daughter would have carefully checked out the story first, _wouldn't she_?" There was enough breathing room to squeak a confirmation before her parents tightened their suffocating presence again.

 _'Maybe I could pretend to have a fit._ ' Yusei was running low on options and subterfuge was becoming very tempting. ' _Only Akiza really knows the details of my condition. It could have evolved to become a lot more dangerous. They might believe it._' Taking a deep breath, he slowly looked for a way to dispose of his plate without causing much of a mess.

"Are you okay?" Noticing the furtive looks, Hideo had homed in on the first signs of a plot. "You're starting to look a little peaky." Forced to relax back again or start praying for an actual seizure, Yusei silently wondered just how awful a fallout that he could hope for. His last conversation with Akiza's father had been less than cordial. If events continued at their current rate, Hideo might start asking questions about the breakthrough in his condition. Yusei was not looking forward to explaining that the only three times he had slept in years was alongside the Senator's daughter.

For some strange reason, he had the uncertain feeling that he had been in a similar position before.

"Mmm-hmm." Not actually using words, he carefully gripped his plate tight enough to whiten his knuckles.

"Of course, it's really that brother of yours that we should be talking to." With the pressure on the pair lessening slightly as Hideo began to look further afield for Crow, Yusei realised that his brother didn't have a close enough connection to the more seasoned Izinski's to lie convincingly to them. The truth would come out in about five minutes, four if they didn't have anything else to eat. What he needed right then was a miracle. What he got was... well, technically a miracle but the complete opposite on the moral compass.

Events moved very quickly. Yusei was just thinking that maybe running for his life would be worth it, Crow was about to take a step in the direction of the stairs and Akiza was certain that a parent's love could only go so far when something peculiar happened. Emerging from the middle of nowhere with the sort of curses that hardened sailors learned over the course of several years, Musume slammed into the table and sent food flying in all directions as the wind was knocked out of her. "Ow." Letting her already noodle-stained hair fall back against the table, she noticed the group looking at her from various angles.

"Okay, _now_ what's the plan?" The pair had stalled and evaded for long enough that they were running out of excuses. Having Musume literally fall from nowhere without warning was like having a malfunctioning missile drop into the middle of the room: there was about to be two seconds of complete silence followed by either death or people fleeing. Yusei just wanted to know which Akiza was planning on.

"Musume?" Too long went past and it was Hideo who first reacted. Unfortunately, he also recognised the scarred face staring up from the table. Even with the new marks emblazoned across her face, there was no mistaking that distinctive shade of red hair that two other Izinski women in the room had.

"Hey, Gramps." Rolling from the table, she brushed herself off in splatters of wasted food. "Sorry about the mess. What day is it?" Acting as if nothing was out of the normal, she seemed to sow chaos with her every action.

"Musume!" Forcing his plate into Jack's hand, Crow lunged forward and tried to sweep her away before brains could resume normal functioning. "When I said that you should drop in, I didn't think that you would take it so literally." Trying to laugh the unorthodox entrance away, he dragged her in the direction of the stairs.

"Gramps?" Hideo slowly stroked his greying beard. "Do I really look that old?"

"No, dear." Firmly grasping his arm, Setsuko smiled up at her husband. "You're in the prime of your life. I'm sure that she was just joking." It hadn't escaped her notice just how much like her own daughter the impromptu arrival appeared. Her suddenly absent daughter who had left Yusei holding two plates and trying to avoid existing too hard. "Musume, was it?" Freezing as she was being escorted backwards by both arms, the figures on either side of the intruder felt unfortunate eyes watching their every reaction. "I don't think that we've had the pleasure."

Now, there were two options open to the pair trying to carry her out of the room. To speed out fast enough that clouds were left in their wake or slowly turn around to face their fate. Doing the first risked the wrath of Akiza's parents while doing the second risked the truth coming out. "The pleasure is all mine." What they forgot to take into account was just how strong Musume herself was and found themselves being dragged backwards as she strode across the room. "I apologise for my abrupt entry. You wouldn't believe the circumstances." Reaching out a hand, she noticed the stares being sent towards it. "Sorry," Wiping the slime of several different sauces on Crow's jacket, she hoped Setsuko wouldn't object to the red markings on the back of her palm. "Let's try this again."

"Setsuko Izinski." Grasping the hand without flinching, Setsuko smiled at the young woman. "This is my husband," Squeezing his arm, she indicated it was his turn to shake the hand. "Hideo."

"How do you do?" Shaking the hand, he showed only the faintest hints of unease. Having two mismatched eyes was unusual enough but seeing each one glow back at him was difficult to cope with. "We were just talking about you."

"Were you?" Noting how the figure hanging gently from her right arm whimpered slightly and Yusei was making chopping motions across his neck to indicate that it was best to remain silent, she tried to catch up to vibe in the room. "What are the odds?" She had a very good idea of the odds and glowered slightly at the thought.

"I have to ask, where did you come from?" Setsuko had followed the same pattern of movement as her husband and the two other government officials, looking up to check the ceiling was still intact. Unless they had seen it happen personally, they would have doubted that she could have simply dropped from the middle of the air.

"Trust me, you wouldn't believe the answer." Trying to mind her manners around the pair of unwitting grandparents, Musume struggled to refrain from her usual coarse methods of explanation. "But this was one of the best evenings I've had in a while. Excuse me." Then she turned and vomited the plant pot Trudge had placed beside the television before sagging into the grip of Akiza and Crow. Needless to say, it was not the first impression that she had wanted to make but was the best she could hope for under the circumstances.

* * *

 _ **I'm sorry for the delays between chapters. I've spent most of this week travelling to see family and haven't been able to update. If you happen to be travelling as well, remember to get plenty of rest. If you're not travelling, how about reviewing?**_


	37. Convergence: Introductions

Morning bloomed bright, beautiful and burningly painful as Musume lay shivering on the couch under a set of thick blankets. Unlike her last time in that situation, she wasn't technically ill. Being ill ascribed the implication that she had no control over her circumstances and she was definitely responsible. So even though she wasn't ill, she was _definitely_ suffering.

"Fun night?" A muffled grunt came from beneath the layers of fabric as Crow asked the smug question.

"I don't think that half the drinks even had human names." Either a truck was repeatedly attempting to hammer itself into Musume's brain or Crow was quietly walking across the floor. Even with her unique situation, the weirdness of the night before had provided a fun evening and a cruel morning.

"Doesn't Akiza have some medical trick that she can use?" Another wave of nausea rippled through her stomach and it was only a timely bucket that saved the carpet from an ugly stain.

Approaching footsteps announced the arrival of Yusei, having spent a sleepless night tinkering in the garage while Akiza slept in the freshly dried bed. "Try not to be too loud." Dragging back a chair at the table was fingernails down a chalkboard. Busy hands began answering emails and tapped nails into skulls with the noise. "I was thinking of enjoying the brisk morning air and some loud music." Dribbles of snot and various liquids dribbled out the corner of her mouth as Musume tried to recover composure from drooling in her sleep.

"Leave her alone." Crow was stirring mugs of coffee with one hand and various liquids into a jar with the other. "There are plenty of stories that ended with you sneaking back home before sunrise." Several pickles and a ground avocado stone were mulched into the mixture as it took on the texture of thick porridge.

"Shhhhhh." Another blinding lance of light managed to spear directly into Musume's eyes before she could cover her face again. "Let me die in peace." Gurgles arose as Crow stirred some vinegar into his mixture and dropped in a few mushed tomatoes. "What is that?" Carefully measuring out a specific dosage, he forced a glass into Musume's hand.

"Patented hangover cure." A single mouthful made her wish that she was already dead and the next, despite lessening the drumbeat in her head, destroyed her stomach's ability to stay steady. "Guaranteed to either cure you or kill you. Either way, no hangover." A second wave of vomit dripped into the bucket Crow had shoved between her knees as Musume tried to think pleasant thoughts. "That happens sometimes." As he daughter continued to spew various chunks into the tub – including one brief stint where it seemed to glow in every colour of the rainbow – Akiza entered the room to gently rub her on the back.

"Can you tell us where you've been?" It was said in the sort of way that transformed the sentence into 'Tell us where you've been, _now_ '. Akiza might be a doctor but she had also been massively embarrassed in front of her parents and felt she was owed some answers. Down a new house plant – Trudge had been dismayed by the loss of his personally grown treasure when he left the night before – Yusei was also listening in as he cast pointed glances at the wilting leaves.

Concerned for Musume's wellbeing – and inherently curious about the nature of her arrival – Crow perched himself on the coffee table. With the three imposing figure hemming her in, Musume correctly deduced that she had no recourse other than the raw truth. Unfortunately, it was more unbelievable than anything that had come previously.

* * *

With the last vestiges of her chaotically undiagnosable ailment taking the form of a splitting headache, Musume had spent most of the day oscillating between chugging vast quantities of water and visited the toilet as she strove to keep the pounding in her head under control. It was as she was downing what must have been her third gallon when word of Yusei release had been announced on one of the myriads of news channels that dominated the television. "Lucky bastard." Swigging the last quarter of a jug of water down her gullet, she left the dirty container in the sink before making ready to leave. It was only as she moved to steal any quickly available food that her brain registered something so utterly mundane that she had simply failed to notice how unnatural it was.

Three bedrooms and a bathroom were aligned on either side of the hall. Now, to anyone, those numbers would suggest there should be only four doors. Which was why she had originally failed to notice the existence of a fifth door set into the far wall.

There was, of course, nothing to be afraid of. It was simply an old oak door set into the middle of a grimy wall and had been there for years. Something was nagging at the back of her mind but Musume couldn't quite figure out what it was. Crow would recommend that she take a look around, get to know the situation before making any rash decisions and not enter the door under any circumstances. Being a disobedient child, she instantly strode over to the floor and walked straight through.

"Oook." A sagging mound of flesh hung loosely around a nearby simian. "Eeek." One limb slowly reached up, passed her a banana and knuckled over to a tightly knit group of shambling old men with robes and staffs to match their drooping silver beards.

"And what did I say about the door of the Drum!" The apparently senior senior wasn't so much asking a question as he was shouting it.

"Not to interfere with it?" A relatively younger, less bearded man was twirling a pointed hat tattered to the point of threadbare through nervous fingers.

" _Not to interfere with it!_ " Their leader hefted a knobbly staff with a bulbous end and the others followed suit. "Right lads, all together now!" Various sequins dropped from their robes as the group stormed past in a whir of invisible sparks. It wasn't black or darkness but simply not _there_. Like a moving hole in space, Musume had the feeling that it was something that only a very particular set of people could see. They rushed by at relative speeds of shambling with the door opening onto a cobbled street with crowds of bellowing people streaming past.

"Eeek!" Inches before the door could fully close, the ape beside Musume knuckled through and bowled into the crowd. Another swing of the door returned the view outside back to the same one she had arrived from, completely bereft of pensioners or apes. Then she could turn her attention to the rest of the room. It was strangely similar to the Bootleg Bar Musume and Crow had previously visited and Bolt Tanner once directed Yusei towards. An array of booths ran along one wall with a jukebox in the far corner and stools beside the bar itself with a variety of patrons enjoying jokes, sharing stories and swapping laughter. That was where any sense of normality ended.

Instead of lightbulbs were a variety of other light sources - candles, luminous crystals and what appeared to be a series of bugs fluttering around one group. That back wall couldn't have been more than a hundred metres away but there was still an easy mile of floor between the door at the front and the toilets at the back. Music floated through the air like twisting smoke and seemed to come from nowhere in particular, despite an old man in a lab coat vomiting in front of the antique jukebox. Two diminutive teenagers were flipping through thick books in one booth near the door and sipping milkshakes as they went. A chubby pig scuttled around their feet as an old man passed by with a face of shame. Just to make the weirdness complete, he was dragging a sandy-haired young man by the belt of a massive scabbard as a beautiful lady with one single white highlight followed, shouting curses that tinged the air visibly blue.

"All right, luv?" A North-English accent originated from a dirty blond behind her. The scruffy beard and damp coat didn't distract from the stench of nicotine about him. "First time, eh? It takes some getting used to." Just before the door closed, Musume received a look of a long wooden corridor that was lit by flickering gas lamps. Then she was able to start grasping the reality of her situation. "'Ey, barkeep!" The newest customer walked over to the bar and slapped the wood with both hands. "Can I get some scotch? Two fingers." Minor shock was still settling about her as Musume watched Englishman who had entered take a stool on the short edge of the counter and became instantly embroiled in conversation with a pair of figures dressed darker than even the blackest of nights. There were two options open to Musume: walk away or start asking questions.

Walking away wasn't in her nature.

Some of the people in that bar resembled humans about as much as an oak tree resembles a fish. Taking what little she had to go on, Musume drew a seat beside the Englishman and huddled over the counter. "Hey," Keeping her face down was a lot easier than keeping her voice lowered in the hubbub of the bar. "What is this place?" Only one person had seemed reasonably normal and he was sipping scotch in the next chair along.

Reaching for a crumpled packet in one pocket, her neighbour at the stretch of wood wearily tapped it against the wooden surface as his conversation was interrupted. "What exactly does it look like?" Another brief glance around the expansive room produced another wave of disturbing results from out of some antique storybook and a few from the other direction.

"It looks a lot like a bar full of weird things." Musume's conversational companions lent back in moderate shock at the words as silence settled in the nearby area. Although she did not realise it at the time, it was the situational equivalent of beginning a eulogy with the phrase 'I'm glad the bugger is dead'.

"That sounds 'bout right. 'Course, most people'd prefer it if you said 'different' instead." Lifting her head slightly let them see her glowing eyes. Most people would have been more impressed by the visage but her new friends didn't even flinch.

"Do I look like I'm one to talk?" An innocent question that raised a storm of laughter in the immediate vicinity. Following the metaphor, it would have the second eulogical line 'because this world wasn't good enough for them anyway'.

"It's called Convergence, luv." Another blast of witty accent came from her company through the door. "It's not really anywhere in particular. Doors crop up every now and then and folks can pop in for a drink. Name's Ryan." Two stained fingers carefully slipped a cigarette into his mouth only for an innocuous hand to take it back out again as one of Ryan's companions plucked the death stick from his kips. "Easy, that's my last one." The same figure withdrew something from a fold of cloth and angled it meaningfully at Ryan without anybody else seeing. Ryan instantly stopped complaining.

"So it's a supernatural bar." Plenty of places in the world had strange things in them if you fell far enough from the map. That wasn't what really had her attention. "But the door outside has been there for years." Laughing at the new girl seemed to be part of the favourite pastime for the patrons of the bar as her unwitting joke was quickly echoed around the vast space.

"Think back." A well-built friend of Ryan's on the first chair immediately around the counter's corner broke in with twinkling eyes. "Was it there for years _last week_?" For all the crazy things in her life, this was a mind-bending thought to try and grasp. "Certain precautions keep any entrances unobtrusive. This is a safe place for people who are different from the norm." Exactly how far from the norm was about to be explained in ways that Musume couldn't easily refute.

"The owner is clairvoyant, rarely speaks a word. Doesn't have to either." Two fingers of scotch seemed enough to simply swill around and stare at. "One of the lasses over there." A single wave indicated what Musume was intensely trying to avoid calling 'oversized fairies' in a rare corner booth. "Any of them could easily level a large town alone and a big city together. That one?" Another figure was indicated and there was that nagging urge to use another mystical name like 'troll'. "Saved a bunch of kids from their school janitor. Can't go outside without being hunted though." For a hideous, lumbering beast of myth and legend, there were plenty of drinks being bought for the hulking figure by several admirers. As the worth of his accomplishments filtered through, Musume wanted to send over an entire keg. That altruistic thought triggered an important realisation.

"How is it so big?" Trying to process the impossible reality was shelved as Musume focused on something she could actually handle. Like how to place an order when the server could be a mile away.

"Asked that myself once. Got a long-winded explanation that meant nothing to me." Expanding her circle of coping, Musume registered the two people Ryan had been talking with. One was made sturdy with years of activity, a black jacket and silver-topped cane matching perfectly with the wide-brimmed hat and twinkling eyes of a storyteller. The other... Even with those enhanced eyes of hers, there was something fundamentally innocuous about what was under the dark robe. All her brief attention could gleam was 'skinny' before it was diverted back to the conversation.

"This is a lot to take in." There almost certainly wasn't any limit to the menu. A board of specials was set some short distance down the wall but it partially written in languages Musume was fairly certain weren't even from her world. Strangely shaped bottles were arranged up and down the wall behind the bar and at least three were softly smoking. Certain clientele were clearly not the average human. Or even any sort of human.

"You want a drink to help you cope with the adjustment?" Reaching out a hand, he put on an easy smirk that reminded her of Crow. " _Et voila_." A pause stretched out in Ryan's confusion. It was instantly clear that the wait was unusual. "Hello? A little service."

It might have been metres, it might have been miles but the owner looked towards the corner of the counter in confusion. There was a tiny furrow between both eyebrows as if something lurking in the back of an old memory was stirring. Each step was a normal distance from one to the next but yards were eaten up in each stride. It took only a few seconds from Ryan's call for the proprietor to arrive with an empty glass in one hand and a cleaning cloth in the other.

"Yeah, lady could do with a drink." For the host of a supernatural establishment, she had expected something a little more unusual. "First time here. Name of,"

"Musume." It was a soft voice from the tall woman. "Aye, I know." She had the sort of light skin that came from very expensive cosmetics or actually taking care of it. Dark hair that was only a few shades away from black. Large black shirt that came down over the waist and wrists, casual jeans that were comfortable but teasingly snug. A lengthy sleeveless cardigan was open at the front and hung loosely down past the back of her knees, looking almost ornate in its flowing length of cream material. Not the sort of figure that somebody could easily forget.

"Have we met?" A playful smile flickered around a mouth slightly smaller than average. Eyebrows met in the middle when the face muscles moved slightly at the question. Even though she was sure that she had never seen the face before, Musume had the uncanny feeling that she knew this person from somewhere.

"Call me... an old friend." Reaching under the counter for a moment, a tiny wooden cup was gently set against the pitted surface in front of Musume with a measured amount of something amber already poured into it. "One drink for the newcomer."

"What's in it?" A quick sniff proved that Musume still lacked the training to detect poison. It didn't smell of bleach so she could at least rule that out.

"Trade secret. Think of it as mostly apples." Ryan gave a helpless shrug to her left as Musume swigged the glass with the certainty that either one or the other of the captured spirits would purge anything deadly from her body.

"Urgh." Pounding her fist into the counter, sparks erupted in her brain as she felt the drink burning through her oesophagus. "What _is_ that stuff?" She missed the obvious in the burning pain of the moment. Ironically, it was because she was feeling the pain that she missed the significance of it.

"Old drink from a mountain region. Scrumble." Any single drink has a dribble left behind and it was starting to fizzle through the bottom of the glass. "With a few subtle changes."

"What, extra suffering?" Rubbing two fingers into her temples, fizzles were still flashing through her vision. "Gah!" Apples. Like what apples would be if the physical apple was taken away. It was apple overload to her senses. Fermented apples. Fermented apples that had realised their fate and decided that they wouldn't take it lying down.

"One customer per drink. Partners drink separately." Each word sounded fuzzy and it took her longer to realise what the bartender had meant than it should. Mainly because – of all the unearthly burdens that were contained in her body – only Musume alone was feeling the effects of the alcohol.

"Wow." With the Crimson Dragon pushing out any dangers and Red Nova stealing away any comfort, forced sobriety had been one of the few things that both agreed on for their host. For the first time since she had started drinking, the buzz was lasting longer than a few seconds. "Is there more?" It didn't matter that this bar had sprung up while Musume was simply trying to grab some sleep at Poppo Time or that it was filled with strange creatures and somehow far bigger than it should be. This was not an opportunity she was willing to let slip by.

"Best pace yourself." Sage advice from her new drinking buddy was accompanied by a small glass of water from the owner. "Experience says to stay hydrated." After a moment had passed where she could adjust to the new sensation, Musume made her best effort to be on guard. Whoever could bypass the restrictions of her captured spirits was somebody to be careful around.

"Didn't catch your name." That playful smiled changed slightly. Sort of bittersweet with a touch of melancholy. Still drop-dead gorgeous.

"Call me... Himeru." A slight pause before the answer was artfully concealed between the words as a tall flute of something golden with a slice of pear wedged at the top was placed on the bar for Musume. It was a twofer prevention method of hangovers – the drink to keep her hydrated and the pear to fight the effects. Of course – like any precautionary method – it could be overcome by massive amounts of what it was meant to guard against. "I was hoping that you might be able to help me out." Not easily plied with anything, Musume stopped the latest drink before it even touched her lips.

"What with?" Another customer about twenty-something feet away waved for a drink. Without much movement, Himeru reached under the counter, snapped the lid off a beer bottle and gently placed it in front of them. All without taking more than a step from her position. "You don't exactly seem helpless." Twenty feet had somehow become twenty inches without a single iota of space being lost. Not the sort of trick that happened a lot.

"Mmm." A quiet grumble failed to sour that face. "Which is actually why I needed to see you. I shall be in the neighbourhood, so to speak." Great. After so many new surprises in her life, this was _just_ what Musume wanted. Another supernatural screwup to deal with. "It is generally considered 'good manners' to let other invested parties know." By 'other parties' Musume instantly understood her to mean those unusual beings who took an interest in human affairs. "I thought that it would be best if I explained the situation to you and had you pass the information on." It became clear and Musume felt safe enough to take a sip from her drink. Delicious but not enough to soothe the sting of being made into a cosmic telephone.

"Okay. Guessing they got the message." Feeling their existence be registered as a polite inconvenience was making the squabbling pair in the pit of her soul just as angry as she was ashamed at being made nothing more than a messenger by virtue of an accident. Ignoring their complaints, Musume carefully rose to her feet. Being drunk apparently had a negative effect on her balance. "If that's all, I'll be on my way." Confusion crossed the unblemished face of Himeru. No, not entirely unblemished. Faint freckles across the nose that hid unless you looked close enough.

"Why?" A flash of understanding struck that strange figure. "Ah. I probably should have made it clear I was not speaking of your passengers." What? Carefully lowering back into the chair, Musume finally gave her full attention to the conversation and blanked out the strangeness of their surroundings and the booze buzz going through her. "But if Quetzalcoatl and Paku Supay are bored, they are welcome to place an order." Nothing could be so ridiculous as Musume thinking herself an equal to the beings she had tricked and trapped inside her. They were simply using her body and soul as the site for their battleground. As maybe the only person capable of bearing them both, she was the perfect candidate for Red Nova to take over and the Crimson Dragon really cut loose.

"... Go on." For whatever reason, Himeru was interested in her. So Musume was obviously interested in _why_ she was interested.

"As I said, I will be around for a while to keep an eye on events as they unfold. Considering that those guests of yours might eventually notice my presence and inform you, I thought it best to explain the situation ahead of time." Of all the strange situations that Musume had gone through, this was the most surreal. Whoever – or _what_ ever – Himeru was, she was being open and forthright about her intentions. Musume took the raw honesty and filed it under 'intensely suspicious'. Nothing in her life had ever been so simple. "I am an... admirer, of sorts, and I wanted to offer you a gift." Wiping her hands clean on a rag from under the counter (likely to be polite since Musume hadn't noticed a single speck of dirt on those perfect palms) Himeru reached into a pocket on her almost robe-like cardigan. "I hope this will be acceptable." Reaching out pinched fingers, she waited for Musume to extend a palm of her own.

"What is it?" Feeling something cold gently lowered onto the skin on her palm, she pulled it back to admire an intricate accessory as it sparkled in the various light sources in the room. "A snowflake?" Crafted in such intricate detail that it was possible to see crystals growing and refracting on every stem, Musume noted a slight sliver of transparent string attached to the centre and long enough to tie around her wrist.

"Think of it as an all-access pass." Pale fingers pressed against those perfectly curved lips. "Eight times that you are welcome to come back here whenever you wish. How do you like it?" The sentence came out so calmly that Musume only noted the question at the end.

"It's beautiful." She took the time to admire the new accessory as the ice formation spiralled through the air. Then she registered the rest of Himeru's words. "Why eight?" It was a silly question and ran the risk of lowering the number but curiosity knew no bounds.

"One for each person you consider important." Another drink was poured under the counter and gently placed in front of Musume's new friend in the trench coat. "Eight people, eight opportunities to take stock of the situation in complete safety." _Eight_ people? Akiza, Crow, Yusei, Jack and the twins were six and that was pushing it. Her relationships with everyone besides Akiza and Crow were practically nonexistent but – she was begrudgingly forced to admit – they were all linked by virtue of being Signers.

"Who are the last two?" Himeru bobbed her head to evade directly answering the question. Maybe she knew the answer, maybe she didn't but sharing either wasn't going to happen.

"Did I say _eight_ people? My mistake." It was, just not in the way that Musume took her to mean just then. "But please, keep the two additional opportunities."

It was an exotic offer, for sure. Nor exactly an empty gesture considering this person had the gall to snub two deities and the indication she could back it up. Even now, Musume could hear the outrage coming from Red Nova at being casually told to order a drink. The Crimson Dragon seemed to be taking it a lot better but was definitely withholding its temper.

"Okay." That nagging sensation was back again. Now that they were apparently past supernatural subterfuge, Musume couldn't ignore the feeling that she knew Himeru from somewhere. "So what exactly are you?" Talking started to die away but she had a bad habit of ignoring social cues. "Ryan says that you see the future and that door outside made itself feel like it had been there a long time." She also wanted to know what sort of being could just shrug off the threat of Red Nova and the Crimson Dragon so readily.

"That is a rather personal question." Sparing a second to serve a few dozens calling customers along the bar, Himeru reappeared in the blink of an eye. "But, since you asked, I will answer your question as best I can." Folding her arms onto the counter, Himeru's top fell forward tantalisingly low. "Put simply, I have had enough time to evolve my understanding to reach zeniths that your people will not fathom at the peaks of their civilisation. My view spans the entirety of your universe throughout all its time and there are periods when I take particular interest to make sure that events do not spiral into utter ruin." Giving a bored look, Musume made it clear that she did not appreciate the depreciation of her entire species. "You asked." As she rose up again and the distracting view vanished, recollection finally sprang up behind Musume's enchanted eyes.

"You were there in Paris." Freezing the bartender in place with the sheer force of her voice, Musume didn't let Himeru get away without mentioning their previous encounter. "You gave me directions." It hadn't been entirely clinched by the 'aye' Himeru had used earlier on but there was no denying the realisation. How her guide had simply vanished, why they had instantly known exactly where to direct Musume. Little details that had been niggling away at her came together all at once to present an uncertain truth. "Why not tell me Yliaster was waiting, if you're such a big fan?" If Himeru could truly support her grandiose claims about knowing all of time, then she would have had to know that Musume was walking straight into a trap.

"Rule one: no interfering with the natural course of events." A wry glance of glowing eyes made Himeru smile gently as they stood in the midst of a transdimensional establishment talking about normality. "Well, whatever course events take. Everyone has their limitations and mine do not let me help you any further than the odd nudge here or there. Anything that I tell you will not be enough to interfere with your choices."

"Okay," She was pushing her luck but Musume had to know why she had been rushed towards danger faster than she would have without interference. "Then why did you tell me which way to go? I mean, if it wouldn't change anything?"

Of all the Duellists of her time or her past, Musume could very possibly match almost all of them. Her forfeiture for the final round of the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament had been genuine but only insofar as she didn't know how her family had changed during her eight years of slumber. It would be like Duelling against complete strangers. And a key point of Duelling was knowing when the opponent was hiding something.

"Curiosity." It was possible that Himeru was using some freaky trick to throw Musume off her game yet the young Signer doubted it. Every word that she said seemed to be the absolute truth. "I wanted to meet you before Yliaster broke that lock you put those two spirits under and.." That was when a bell went off. Right when Himeru opened her mouth to say something else before she could stop short. And Himeru knew, with a gentle smile, that Musume had noticed. " _And_ before you met your לַעֲזָאזֵל."

"My what?" It was a language she hadn't heard before. Slightly guttural but definitely human. At least, she hoped so. Otherwise, whatever species spoke that dialect snarled a lot.

"See?" There was a whimsical sadness in that smile. "One day, you will understand that word. It will not be a good day." It was obvious that Himeru had some understanding of the Signer's past so Musume could only imagine what a 'bad day' would be like.

"Thanks for the gift." Tying the trinket around her right wrist, Musume made a careful note of all the coverups and slips that her 'admirer' was trying to hide. Not a long list but certainly enough hints that she should take notice. "But I should really be getting back soon. My family will want to know about this."

"Ah." Raising a slender finger, there came another enchanting smile. "One of the first understandings that you should shun is the stoic linear nature of time. It is a lot more pliable than you believe." Despite the limitless meaning that lay within those words, Musume only thought was about how she could bend the opportunities towards her own benefit.

"Prove it." Which is not to say that she believed them. The trick of any good con is to make the idiot believe that you can do something nobody else can and Musume was no idiot.

"Okay." Shrugging as if she was being asked to do no more major a feat than getting a fresh glass, Himeru gave no hint to the duplicitous actions she had planned. "When you leave here, you will arrive two days after you left. Trust me, you would prefer it that way anyway." If Musume had happened to have been involved with Crow's prank or seen Yusei asleep on the sofa with her mother, the ICC would have been off the hook for trying to convict him. A dead man could not be sent to jail. "Just do not forget: there is a plant besides the television. You can throw up in that." Looking around, Musume failed to see any television sets in the otherwise limitless bar. "Not right now. Just try to keep it in mind."

"Tell me something." It had occurred to her earlier that Himeru's honesty might be a cunning plan and Musume felt like she was starting to uncover the deception. "What do _you_ get out of this?" Himeru had said that Musume might have been told there was someone watching but that was hardly a reason to come out and announce herself. From what Musume saw, she was clearly capable of keeping enough distance that nobody would really know if she was there at all.

"Just because I remain impartial does not mean I do not pick sides." Had Musume endured the sort of dreary political talks the accompanied being either the daughter of a politician, head of an international institution or a professional criminal who had been thoroughly lectured on the rare instance of imprisonment, she would have understood the distinction more fully. People in government were meant to follow whichever courses of action were voted upon and not let their personal ideals interfere. Which is not to say that it was always the case. "This is a _bar_. People _talk_." From paying close attention to the carefully phrased words, Musume was able to detect the subtle sledgehammers of fairly direct hints. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask." Whenever somebody lied to her, Musume made an effort to uncover all the reasons why. Because there had been no deception to uncover, she had been forced to rely on actually asking more question. It was an uncomfortable first to actually get the answers. Deciding not to push the envelope further than was necessary without reporting back to her family first, Musume just smiled and raised her suddenly full glass.

"How much does mystical booze go for these days? I've got a cranky uncle you can have in exchange." Some light notes of laughter killed all the conversation in the paradoxical room. Most people had never heard much more than a few words from the person behind the bar and it was beyond musical.

"On the house." These words were wondrous at any time but even more coming from such a beautiful voice. An instinctively untrusting flutter gave just enough of a view of Musume's wings to the person behind the bar. "Now, I have spent far too much time ignoring my other guests. Best that I serve some drinks before another fight starts breaking out." Ryan had clearly not been exaggerating that clairvoyance. No sooner had the words left her mouth that a brawl started over Himeru's right shoulder. "Just holler if you need anything." Another brief glimpse into the future saw the urgent need for a new glass at the far end of the bar and the mane of dark hair flew down the length of wood.

"Don't take that gift lightly, luv. Not many people are allowed to come here." There was a wistful tilt to the glass Ryan was holding. "And fewer return." Despite the seemingly limitless power in the room, there was no doubt what he meant. "Some fulfil their purpose, others turn their backs. Others... others don't make it through the fight." The glass ruptured in his grasp but another was quickly there to replace it before Himeru vanished again to stop the outbreak of violence from spreading. Whatever his particular story was, Ryan had clearly lost people along the way. There is rarely a story where the hero does not suffer immense loss. "Of course, since you're welcome back whenever, I suggest that you leave the questions for a later date. Best get used to the atmosphere in case I'm not here next time you come visiting."

 **Let us not talk of such depressing topics.** Something about the space behind the bony figure was distracting Musume. Some peculiar part of its nature was trying to convey the distinct impression that she should be looking somewhere else. **I suggest that we have more of these delicious drinks. And a curry.** In the single moment that food was mentioned and the figure's attention wandered, Musume was able to glimpse beyond what her brain was telling her and realised just how unusual Convergence really was.

"The hotter the better." Glasses clinked against each other as that faint grip Musume usually had on reality fell away completely. Peeling off her thick jacket, she let the spectral protrusions on her back slowly flutter and stretch with barely a curious glance sent in her direction. If the bar extended it's clientele as far as housing errant trolls, Musume could allow herself to simply relax and stop hiding for a few hours. Some might say that she was spreading her wings. Those people would have received a punch to the face after a few such jokes.

* * *

"So you went through a door that doesn't exist," Casting a look at the wall – which Crow knew had never, _ever_ contained a door – he continued in a slow monotone. "Into a magic bar, got (really) drunk, made some new friends and happened to bump into someone (or something)," He muttered darkly. "That says they want to help you but isn't going to?"

"That's about it." If she had been feeling sorry for herself while ill that week, Musume was feeling downright wretched right then. Being ill had been beyond her control. This hangover (her first) was convincing her that life was not worth living and she could do with a refund. "But she did mention that she would try and answer questions, providing that they don't interfere with what we were going to do anyway."

Squinting at the deal, Crow tried to find some problem with it. Unlike his own arrangement with Yliaster, this one seemed to be a fair deal. Admittedly, there was little practical advantage to be gained from it but this neutral new party seemed willing to fill in some gaps in their knowledge. Even if they would supposedly continue as before, having the answers to some questions might let them learn the answers to others while it could still make a difference.

Just as long – he mused while watching another wave of bile splatter into the bucket – as Musume learned to go easy on the booze.

* * *

 _ **Always drink responsibly. Unless you had a dragon god living in your small intestine and a demon taking up residence in your kidneys, in which case, go nuts! If you don't have the aforementioned supernatural burdens, spread the love and leave a review.**_

 _ **But, seriously on the drinking front,** **be responsible** **. On the reviewing front, go mad and paint the town beige.  
**_


	38. Video Games

A week of silence could easily be confused with a week without work. Ranks of unscrupulous reporters failed to track Yusei leaving Poppo Time for anything more suspicious than a cup of coffee across the square. His brothers would make excursions to bring back supplies but had otherwise melted into the background and vanished before anyone could follow them into the city. Akiza had continued to take shifts at the SRC and expensive bribes to her fellow workers had revealed that she had not met with Kamikawa since the trial. Even more extensive bribes had revealed that permission had been granted to the International Criminal Court – under the regional authority of Minister Hiraguchi and far more local authority of the SRC guards – to attempt access to the stacks of computers in Building Four which housed Abi.

All of these facts made it seem like Yusei's family had simply decided to sit and wait for the results of the investigation. Which made it impossibly surprising when a group of four people left Poppo Time one Monday morning and headed directly to the main hub that existed at the centre of the SRC facilities. Now, seeing Yusei going to his place of work with Akiza would not have surprised many people. Even if they had been flanked by his brothers, it would have been an expected move. But the pair that accompanied them to the SRC were neither intimidating or overwhelmingly intelligent. 'Exceedingly patient' would definitely describe Luna and Leo had practically memorised every obscure Duel Monsters fact out there yet neither was exactly average for the chaotic institution.

"Akiza." Instead of heading over to the legal department or the ongoing legal battle, they had gone to the single most dangerous lab in the city – the one Din was currently squatting in with a smug grin plastered across his missing and dirty teeth. In the promise of extreme favours later on, he had promised to keep to a minimum of profanity. "One of those leeches just dropped these off." Tapping a thick wedge of paper off to one side, he was still dressed in that smelly rag of a lab coat that he always wore. At least he had showered in the past month and the smell was nowhere as toxic as it could become.

"Perfect." Of course, nobody had seen any interaction between Yusei, Akiza and Kamikawa's department with the complexity of the SRC network making it nearly impossible to trace any sort of brief contact between two random offices. Since Din's lab had once been two separate rooms, using a networked landline from the far end to call a cleaning supplies room just beside the legal department had flown entirely under the radar. And faxing over several pages had been just as easy. "Luna, do you mind?"

"Of course not." Carried over one slender arm was a narrow satchel which she scooped the documents into.

"Don't forget your promise." Nearly drooling with desire, he pictured the veritable treasure trove that would be opened up to him as payment for the services rendered. "I'll want a handwritten letter for Head and Rubinek as soon as you get everything straightened out." Getting Din access back into the library would be just as much a miracle as staying out of prison. Yusei had no qualms about paying his miracles forward as long as his friends made it out okay.

"As long as you agree to maintain their standards with any books you borrow." During the various rounds of resolution talks between the librarians and the irate scientist, Yusei had uncovered that Din did indeed possess a vast affinity for the written word. That is, providing it was right. Incorrect equations would not be tolerated in his lab. "Think of them as historical texts if it helps." With their cargo secured, the group departed for their next destination.

* * *

Minister Hiraguchi and a handful of officials from the International Criminal Court were clustered at the near end of the room. Technically, nobody had to even enter Building Four in order to check on the vast computer network contained within. It was only on the rare occasion that a stack needed checking or a cable needed replacing that Yusei would go in and undertake repairs. Except for his gentle maintenance to maintain a healthy habitat for his creation, none of the SRC workers had been into Building Four since Abi had first come online. One floor was designated a sort of command centre. There was a lengthy desk which was comprised of four monitoring stations to check on the machines stacked around them. A small horde of bespectacled geeks were hurrying around the towers of machinery in various states of unease and haste.

In order to ensure that nothing untoward happened to the property itself, half a dozen of the SRC's best guards were arrayed around the room. Two by the emergency exit, two by the elevator entrance and two stationed midway along the where the entire team could converge on any misbehaviour in seconds. They kept themselves tightly upright and utterly focused on their task as tablets scurried around taking notes and various commands were attempted to be entered into the unresponsive computers. When the lift doors opened to reveal the party of four, the guards managed to somehow get even more focused.

"Dr Fudo." Hiraguchi turned around only after announcing his arrival. "And it appears that you have brought friends." Waiting as the group went through a brief pat-down and examination of their personal effects (standard safety precautions that Yusei had explained to them all well in advance), he looked unsurprised to see them present. Word had clearly got ahead of them. "May I take this to mean that you have decided to assist in the investigation?" While Akiza made introductions, Yusei seemed struck dumb by a powerful emotion.

What was in risk of being permanently etched onto Yusei's face was the sort of dumbfounded look that couldn't have even happened if his brothers had been in the room. Admittedly, they would have been unable to even figure out which port to use and had a long-standing agreement with Yusei to leave all computer matters to him. Still, a _trained_ computer technician – particularly one who had been employed to assist in an international investigation – would understand that trying to directly connect to a suspicious computer network was about as intelligent as wearing a flashing neon sign in the middle of a warzone.

"What _are_ you doing?" While Yusei had managed to attain a level of self-control after not sleeping for days on end, this man had the sort of frizzled hair that came from trying to rip it out in frustration. Enough stubble was growing on his face to make him look like the town drunk and the buttons on his shirt – despite not even reaching double digits – had somehow managed to be done up in the wrong order.

"I've tried firewall penetration, I've tried to force a system-wide reboot cycle to gain root access and I've just spent the last two days screaming at the user interface," Whatever other unique and bizarre approaches he had tried went unnoticed as Yusei seized the mismatched buttons in the sort of grip that leaves imprints on rocks.

"You," Speaking in a quiet voice, he resisted the urge to tighten his grip further. "Did _what_?" For some strange reason – possibly the way he was close to lifting a grown man from the floor with a single hand – six guards no longer seemed adequate to keep Yusei safe. That is, keep him safe enough _for_ the others in the room as opposed to _from_ them.

"Yusei!" Slapping her boss around the back of the head could easily earn Akiza some extra trouble later on but managed to shake him back to his senses. He was meant to be the cool head of the group. If they wanted someone punching, there were no fewer than three people they could call on. More, if he cared to give a proper reason why.

"What I meant to say," Lowering the terrified technician back down to the floor, Yusei smoothed out the shirt with intimidatingly peaceful hands. "Is 'What other methods have you tried?'. Just so that I can get up to speed with the situation." Even adding the rational explanation to the end of his apology, Yusei still seemed half an inch from throttling another figure. "For example, did any of you..." Words like 'genii' (the correct plural of genius – no matter how often Jack and Crow argued for 'geniuses'), 'morons' and several others which would have probably earned him a small prison sentence crossed Yusei's mind before he decided a noun was unnecessary. "Try _talking_ to her?"

If his earlier look had been dumbfounded, the one circling around Hiraguchi, the ICC and all their various lackeys was like they had just been asked where the dimmer switch was for the sun. " _Talking_ to it?" For a recent throttling victim with two degrees, the technician had a stunning lack of insight into how to actually absorb new information. "How would that help?" Taking stock of how the conversation was about to go and deciding that one trial was enough for recent days, Akiza smoothly stepped between the functional moron and Yusei's grip before it could deteriorate further.

"Dr Burrell?" Quietly observing the situation and making assessments was practically the job of a good psychologist. Hoping that she had gathered enough information to take part in the discussion, Akiza asked for her assistance before another stupid comment could risk another brief strangle.

"Despite his... unorthodox approach to making the point," Still staring with itchy fingers at the almost suicidally inept computer programmer who had admitted to the technological equivalent of drugging a computer before trying open-brain surgery, Yusei looked ready to take another attempt at making his point clear. "I think that Dr Fudo is trying to say that your attempt is focussing more on the 'artificial' than the 'intelligence' aspect of the system."

"Yes." Said the utterly rational scientist in tones of completely even emotion. "That was exactly what I meant to say." What his voice was saying and what his eyes were screaming contained diametric amounts of profanity. Since 'he looked at me in a funny way' was not exactly the sort of evidence that would hold up in any court, Hiraguchi wisely decided not to raise a complaint. "You." Staring with unbridled authority at the now trembling technician, Yusei let every vengeful thought stream through his gaze. "Get off my grounds and don't come back. Ever." Six guards looked, touched or otherwise checked that their weapons were still present. They were the very best in non-lethal weaponry, next-generation prototypes developed by leading scientists at the SRC who had managed to create unparalleled options for detaining anything sized between a mouse and an elephant at ranges of up to three-hundred yards.

And yet, they all thought, Dr Fudo kept giving off the impression that they would barely slow him down.

Once the technician had left – followed by one guard who was particularly grateful for the invitation to be just about anywhere else on the planet – Akiza reached into the bag that she had asked Luna to carry. Nobody had thought the kind young woman any sort of threat and hadn't looked too closely at the wedge of paper, other than to flick through the pages and make sure that nothing was hidden inside. "Sign these."

"What are they?" Holding up a hand to indicate they do nothing of the sort, Hiraguchi knew the wisdom of not signing any documents that hadn't been read and vetted beforehand.

"Disclosure documents." Standing there with his cards ready for anyone who asked, Yusei's habit of telling the truth came with the offer of making more progress in one afternoon than they had done in the last few days. "Anything that you learn during the course of your investigation into Abi can be used for the ICC report but never again. Unless," And this was when one corner of his mouth twitched in a smile. " _Abi_ tells anyone else first." A slight workaround existed in that contract. Anything that Hiraguchi or the ICC learned could – and would – be written up in their report. A report that they could easily reference at any point in the future. And the two leaders in the room each knew that they both understood it.

"Most people would have put themselves down instead." The Minister of Justice was a rare politician. Unlike many of his ilk, he was genuinely interested in seeking justice for all involved. If Yusei was guilty, jail would be his future. If he turned out to be telling an impossible truth, just an endless array of meetings. "Still, singularity or not, I suspect that Abi will fulfil the requirements of being an AI." Having been on the inside track since before the trial had been public, Hiraguchi had learned the distinction between a programmed AI and one that had brought itself into being. Both were capable of exercising a fair semblance of will, such as passing information along to a journalist but one would result in Yusei spending a lot of time to think about what he did wrong.

Once the papers had been extensively read and vetted by the veteran lawyer, they received a begrudging signature from most parties. The twins and various members of the SRC stood exempt. Kamikawa had put together a fair and reasonable contract for them to sign. It would make the ICC legally culpable for any information leaks since only Yusei understood the details surrounding Abi otherwise. After the last sheets had been handed back to Luna, she carefully stacked them all away again.

"Like I said," Sitting down at the computer bank that was more for show than actual use (since Abi could – and had – set computers on fire if people she didn't want using them tried) Yusei began typing. "How did _none_ of you try talking to her first?" Hitting the return key, he sat back with an exasperated air that rarely occurred outside of his brothers. Being awake for days on end had allowed plenty of time to expand his intellect but he rarely held people's stupidity against them.

" _Because they're all idiots._ " Being a sentient computer with the emotional maturity of a teenager, Abi frequently criticised people less intelligent than herself. Particularly when they also happened to be less intelligent than the average person.

"Manners." Yusei chided the warning out of habit rather than actual care. "Abi, meet Leo and Luna. Leo, Luna, this is Abi." Casually flipping off the team of fuming computer 'experts' and Hiraguchi's lawyers, Abi was still dressed in the formal suit that she had prepared for the trial. "I _thought_ ," Shooting her a stern look for the act, Yusei let it slide for the moment. "That you might appreciate finally meeting them since you showed interest when we talked about it."

" _You looked taller on television._ " Even though she stood barely over five foot in her jeans and hoodie, Abi had the sort of expression that came from realising reality was not as impressive as fantasy. " _Probably because you had Crow in the lineup._ "

"Yeah." Scratching at the back of his head in bemusement, Leo had no idea of how to react. It had been one thing to learn that Abi existed but having a conversation with her was another one entirely. "I might have also been stretching slightly. I mean, Jack's _really_ tall and a lot of people tend to be less impressed if you're shorter than them so,"

" _Does he babble the whole time?_ " Stepping around Leo to talk with his sister, Abi was growing increasingly unimpressed with the young Duellist. All the news events had shown him as eager, energetic and funny but they tended to be heavily edited.

"Only when he's excited." A subtle twitch indicated that he was excited plenty of the time and that Luna had developed the sort of coping mechanisms that included an internal playlist of loud music and happy thoughts. "I'm Luna." Holding out a hand on impulse, she had the unsettling sensation of holding a dry bubble. KaibaCorp holograms were able to briefly mimic realism were called upon but the setup Abi used relied on speed over integrity to keep up with her thinking. Solidity was rarely called into question.

" _I've seen some of your designs._ " Abi had talked with Yusei about designing a larger formal wardrobe for when he was forced to attend events and decided that he would be less likely to reject an outfit from a close friend. " _They are quite elegant._ "

"This is your grand plan?" Keeping his tone politically neutral, Hiraguchi seemed unfazed by the apparition. Legal troubles were where his expertise lay. As long as nothing blatantly illegal went on, he had nothing to complain about. "Insults and fashion advice?"

"Minister Hiraguchi." Yusei understood that everyone had different areas of expertise. One of his visiting lecturers had led a riveting debate on the effects of a mushroom-based diet on hormonal balances and how it affected beard growth in later life. He respected that. It was just a shame that few other people seemed able to. "Since you decided not to try _talking_ with her, might I suggest that you try _watching_ Abi in her natural behaviour?" Considering how the raven-haired genius had shown his ability to dominate a trail in seconds, Hiraguchi wisely decided to listen to an area he already had expertise in. "What you didn't realise at the trial is that Abi may be as smart as anyone else at the SRC," There was no point in keeping their voices down with the microphones picking up every word but Yusei preferred to keep the conversation between the three of them. "But she's practically just a child. When she isn't working with everyone, she spends her time off watching television and playing video games." Even though she liked watching the astronomy predictions of galactic formations while working, her downtime was spent just doing typical kid stuff.

"If your analogy is accurate" Hiraguchi was watching them talk and squabble over tactics in one of the games that Abi and Leo both played. It was impossible to deny – once the transparent blue body was ignored – that they appeared to just be three young people having an innocent conversation. "Than she is a child with who knows every secret in this facility and has access to every governmental database on the planet."

"If you define a child as someone under the legal age of adulthood," And this was the moment when Yusei suddenly took the law, unravelled it for into a flat sheet and pointed at the exact spot that nobody wanted to see. "Then we usually have at least a dozen of them working with the SRC at all times. And I can probably prove that three of those currently with the facility have the necessary skills to access any database they want." Only one of them actually had any computer background. The other two were a psychologist and a youth with the sort of prying eyes that worked on a keyboard across the room.

"What?" While arranging everything so that Yusei could get the necessary clearance for minors and their guardians had involved the sort of legal complications that the Minister of Justice kept apprised of, Akiza had not been read into the situation. "I thought that they were just _interns_." She had seen a few of the youths around the grounds. Assumed they were probably relatives of various scientists or working for them. Forgotten about them afterwards.

Noticeably looking in a different direction from Hiraguchi – who suddenly seemed intent on following the advice to simply watch Abi – Yusei gave an embarrassed cough. "Well, they sometimes _take_ interns. The SRC is a meritocracy. They may be assigned chaperones to deal with the adults but their work speaks for itself." Another embarrassed throat-clearing presented a slight diplomatic issue that he hadn't wanted to address but was being pressured into by Akiza's sheer force of presence. "Of course, they also require access to information relevant to their projects so a lot of them are assigned temporary clearance during their stay. Due to your status as Dr Din's assistant, _you_ technically only have clearance to any _non_ -classified information that you've already seen."

"Oh?" Being a professional of the highest order, Hiraguchi knew a politically indifferent tone that he couldn't match. Being a genius that few could compare against, Yusei could tell that he would be in the sort of trouble later on that would make the trial look like a minor squabble by comparison. "That makes sense."

"No. _No_ way!" Over in the more important conversation, Leo looked ready to have a fit. "That was _you_?"

" _Hey,_ " Nobody can calculate the perfect mathematical shrug but that's what Abi was pulling off. " _Who would call themselves 'M3chDraG0on' and expect nobody will target them in a match?_ "

"Who summons a freaking _dragon_ just to kill one guy?" Seeing how heated the conversation was becoming, Yusei felt it necessary to step in.

"What's going on?"Noting how Leo was apocalyptically furious and pointing trembling fingers at Abi, he turned to the more reliable twin for answers.

"Apparently, Leo and Abi used to play the same game for a while." Joining the dots was easy from that sentence alone. Yusei remembered the venerated title of M3chDraG0on. Abi had been insufferably proud of winning that match for a solid week. "And it appears that Abi and Leo ended up in the same game one day where she was a bit excessive in taking him on." It was one of those fantasy games with magic involved. Buying a dragon summon usually cost a player several weeks worth of wages and was rarely used on anything other than a raid boss.

Unfortunately, Abi and Leo had been the final contenders in an event tournament which would award a unique and powerful weapon which would adapt to the victor's class of choice. Being the diehard mage that her character was, Abi just couldn't let that opportunity slide even as Leo hungered for a powerful new axe.

"Brawlers have an advantage over mages." Smacking his hands together with every other word, Leo had circled back to being coherent again. "We're damage dealers, mages are a _support_ class. They shouldn't be able to beat us." It was smack talk of the lowest form. No cutting repertoire, no real insults.

" _Not if you play them right. Equip some Abyssal Armour to boost defence, complete the class-specific guild questlines to speed casting time and run like they're all chasing you._ " Judging by the way that Leo had stopped ranking and started taking notes, Abi had just revealed a game-changing strategy. " _It might not be as fast as a brawler but a brawler can't stop a fully buffed mage._ " Lowering her voice, she pointedly muttered behind a hand to Yusei. " _Especially not when they have a dragon._ "

"But the guild quests don't offer any sort of class boosts." Not eager to relinquish his crumbling position, Leo adamantly refused to give up the argument. "They're just quests to fill event quotas. Nobody has _ever_ done all fifty when they reset each month." That's when the penny finally dropped. "But nobody bothers with them because they're escort quests and slime-kills." Escorting NPCs was deemed to be the most horrifying sort of quests available. They universally operated at a unique speed that was midway between a walk and a sprint, leaving players to constantly flick between the two as they struggled to keep up. As for slime (or whatever the game equivalent was) killing, most players eventually thought themselves beyond such things except for the odd fun testing out new sets.

" _Exactly._ " Clapping her hands together in glee that somebody finally understood the brilliance of her gaming genius, Abi was practically jumping for joy. " _It almost took me a year because of the escort quests but I finally managed it._ _Never_ _try running ahead to clear the path._ " She added ruefully. " _One of the damn things ran off a cliff. I mean, were the programmers even trying?_ "

"How many computers would make the same mistake more than once?" Even though she was really only there to make sure that events went smoothly, Akiza was quietly speaking with the certainty that both Abi and Yusei would agree with her. "Even _I_ would know to stick with the target. So why would Abi just run off?" Admittedly, Hiraguchi was unaccustomed to playing video games but the Minister of Justice knew all about how protective details operated. It was a simple mistake to get impatient and run ahead but a computer would know to track all the enemies and strike at the optimum moment.

"I admit that it's... puzzling." Maybe the computer decided to simply to map out the terrain and see how events would turn out later on. But there was still no advantage to be gained. "Whilst there may be some merit to your argument, it is not in my purview to make a final decision." Over at the computer banks, Abi had loaded up the old game and was challenging Leo to a no-rules spar to determine who the better player really was.

"Maybe it's not about making a decision." If there was one trait that Abi would have picked up from Yusei from all her years by his side as he ran the SRC, it would be his martyr complex. "Maybe they just want you to see a happy young girl who enjoys playing videos games and likes to laugh with her friends." Over at the computer stations, Luna was frantically advising her brother on strategy while Yusei tapped at the screen Abi was playing on and fed a constant stream of advice as she sent fireballs flying at a bearded warrior who tossed axes in return.

"Hmm. As I said, the decision is not mine to make." Generation gaps can be far more confusing than most language barriers. Hiraguchi sometimes wondered if his grandchildren were even speaking Japanese but he always noticed when they were getting along well together. It was obvious that the young woman made of computer chips was getting along just fine with the young man running on adrenaline as he fought to keep apace of her. "But I wish her all the best." It was the first time that he had used the pronoun and the importance was not lost on the three people who hadn't stopped listening to the conversation.

"Hah!" In the instant that her attention had wavered, Abi's avatar took a pair of throwing axes to the spine. As probability would have it, she gained both a stun debuff from his skill and started taking poison damage as a result of the weapons. "This is for Bloodaxe!" Leo's habits of naming his primary weapons didn't start when he got them.

" _Have you met Mana Star?_ " Like her opponent, Abi had also settled on a name during the tournament. Unlike him, she had actually managed to secure the item. " _It can grant immunity from debuffs once every five minutes. But I_ _know_ _that you've met Tiamat._ " Naming her dragon had been easy. It was big, flaming and utterly destroyed everything that she set it loose against. While the rest of the room watched, Leo practically broke his fist pounding on the keyboards as the same dragon that had forced him away from the game in the first place rose up to smite his character once again. Not many people would call for a do-over for a third sure-loss but Leo had finally managed to hunt down his arch-gaming-rival and would not leave until he won at least one game. The trick – he would later explain to his sister – was in knowing that the dragon summon only worked a limited number of times each day. As long as he attacked before Abi could employ all her buffs, there was a chance that he could win. A slim chance. Providing they hadn't removed the limit or Abi hadn't found ways around it. Or had other summons. Otherwise, a definite chance.

"Mayor Lazar has extended an invitation to myself and the entire ICC delegation for the upcoming celebrations." Being friendly with the opposition could go a long way towards progressing an investigation but Hiraguchi was careful to keep his tone neutral. "Shall I expect to see Dr Fudo there?"

"Mayor Lazar has also expressed interest in having him attend." Understanding the tones of political discretion and matching them with her voice of doctor-patient confidentiality, Akiza understood the question better than she had been told. "And reached out to some more authoritative parties to secure his participation." Being a Minister was one of the highest positions in the country. Only a few people could legally supersede his authority but Hiraguchi had an inkling that Lazar hadn't reached out to a higher legal power.

* * *

"I think that went well." Without directly saying, it was clear that Akiza wasn't including the throttling incident. "Hiraguchi seemed to be coming around." They had left the Minister of Justice and his ICC companions watching Leo challenge Abi to several rematches. They would eventually move onto cooperative playing but were currently just enjoying their bitter rivalry. Despite their mission to attempt to uncover Abi's coding, the technicians were having to make do with analysing her reactions for any hint of pre-programmed responses.

Dr Burrell was trying to figure out just where exactly her expertise was being employed when one of the technicians dug out their old account to party up with Abi and Leo to take a run at a mid-tier dungeon boss. Hearing a computer screaming ' _I said 'flank' not 'feed', you piece of shit_ ' had resulted in a casual note being taken to indicate the typical response. Realising that it was typical of a teenager and not the sort of machine used to check her email lead to the sort of hurried notes that reporters had been using during the trial.

"Hmm." Watching the numbers on the elevator trickle down, Yusei wondered at the wisdom of introducing a permanent distraction to Abi. Having new friends was essential for any growing person but he wondered what sort of influence they would have on each other. "I just hope that it will be enough to get them talking." Practically since she had learned how to communicate, Yusei had explained to Abi the necessity of not exploring her origins in too much detail with anyone else. As long as they stayed true to that rule, there was a good chance that everything would turn out okay.

"By the way," There was that indisputable tone again which meant Yusei would very soon be told what plans he had made and then instantly forgotten. For the first time Akiza had learned that tone, they genuinely were plans that he had forgotten about. "Martha called me." If there was one thing that Yusei should fear, it was when the two women who knew him the best started conspiring against him. "Mayor Lazar has been keeping her informed of your trial and she agrees that you could do with some time off to relax." Yes, that certainly sounded ideal yet Yusei was wise enough to stay quiet as he waited for the rest of his orders to come. "Luckily, he happened to mention just the thing." By the time that they were exiting Building Four, Yusei had managed to get the worst of his feelings out of his system.

"And did I mention, _**no**_?" Back when Lazar had first mentioned the idea to him, it had been at a difficult time. Now that the difficult times were nearly past, the notion still seemed idiotic. Possibly even more so now than before.

"Yusei?" As they approached a studious gardener wearing a wide hat to keep the sun at bay, Akiza switched from her 'this was what you had planned anyway' tone into 'this is what you are going to do because I said so' one. "Lazar arranged a masked ball so that you could have some anonymity. This way, nobody is going to know you're you unless you tell them directly." One hand smoothed down the dirt as they walked by. No noise came save the sound of granules rustling against one another as a distinctive plant was hidden amidst the others

"Do you know how many optional events I have managed to avoid attending since the SRC began?" There were events that Director Fudo needed to attend and others that he was requested to show up at. If it was for his people, there was little Yusei wouldn't do. Otherwise, there was a lot he wouldn't do. "Literally all of them."

"Yes." Came the dry reply. "I know." After a few 'conflicting meetings' had started to make the ruse clear, his excuses had been forced to become a bit more inventive. Lazar had – via Martha – told tale of one time when he had been on video call with the Russian Minister Vasilyeva and had Abi project a holographic image of a fire-ruined office to explain his lack of attendance at a conference. "But this is the only chance you'll get to be outside for a while without reporters chasing you around." No fewer than five stalled cars had asked for help in the square since the trial had ended. And that was just the least obvious ruse since the road into the square was both narrow and obscure. One woman had pretended to have a baby to try and flag down Akiza. She had called an ambulance and watched the blood drain from the reporter's face at having to explain why she had tried faking a birth and wasted essential city resources.

"It's _not_ happening." As Director of the SRC, King of Games and every inch her boss, Yusei's tone bridled with raw authority. Unfortunately, he was forgetting the simple fact that Akiza had known him since long before all that. To her ears, the tone came across as slightly petulant. All that was missing was the stamped foot.

"Yusei?" Musing over their scant victories, Yliaster closing in and the ICC breathing down their collective necks, Akiza wondered exactly when they would next be able to get a break. Not for some months. Then would be the life-altering event to divert their attention for a few decades. "Shut up and find a damn mask before I ask Lazar to lend you one." If he wanted to act like a clown, she would make sure that he looked the part.

Behind them, the gardener rose to their feet with head still pointed low at their work. A careful eye examined not just the plant they had been tending but also the position of it, of its neighbours. How they all fit together. Monet once said, "My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece". If the unauthorised gardener was _very_ lucky, nobody would ever realise exactly what their ongoing masterpiece was. Should the opportunity arise that it was needed, events would most likely draw attention in a completely different direction too much for anyone to notice what was right beneath their feet. Unlike Monet's, the circular garden that encircled the SRC was not one meant to be looked at but used in a rather different fashion altogether. Less ' _House Among Roses_ ' and more 'In Case of Emergency, Glass Breaks Itself'.

* * *

 _ **Tech tips of the day: never connect with a suspicious device, avoid escort quests where possible and always leave a review if you can.**_


	39. Wukesong Arena

**_I know I usually do these at the end but I wanted to apologise for a lack of updates recently. I was moving and had no internet for the last two weeks and my old place. But I have been productive and you should look forward to a slew of fresh chapters in the next few days._**

 ** _I also really want to apologise to my latest reviewer, who thinks my story sucks. It must have been awful to read through a combined total of nearly half a million words and hate all of them. But thanks for the feedback, I will genuinely take it under advisement.  
_**

* * *

While Mongolia was small enough to arrange lodging in the next town over, Bejing was impossibly more complicated. The first difference was that Bejing was a complex mess of streets instead of the open plains of the neighbouring country to the north-west. Another problem was that Mongolia had barely over three million people in the entire country while the Chinese city had a staggering population of over twenty-one million. John had imagined that the Rare Hunters might have set their new recruits up with somewhere nice but nothing had been mentioned except for the meeting that was still two days away. It appeared that they were either tight-fisted or wanted their recruits to be sturdy, tough and able to cope by themselves. That was fine. John had certain advantages over the rest of the Rare Hunters and a habit of landing on his feet.

Getting a place to stay had required a lot more effort than it had previously. Expensive hotels were plentiful but would ask for his passport and John intended to fly beneath the radar as long as possible. Cheap accommodation was dominated by the local populace who lacked a place of their own to stay each night. Scores of young people took advantage of relatively luxurious cyber-cafes that sold both fresh underwear and rented out shower stalls for less than it cost to rent even the cheapest room. With a strange sense of shared privacy binding them together, joining the ranks of these 'cyber-homeless' was a tempting thought if people wanted a place to stay without being tracked. John had actually considered it before realising that some of the more radically competitive members of the Rare Hunters might take the effort to track him down and take out the competition. He had kept looking.

After six hours of searching through increasingly despairing venues, the closest thing to perfect came up – cheap, close enough to transportation routes that he could get around the city and with the sorts of exits that gave him plenty of options if the worst arose. Something about the sign gave him a good feeling – the Dragon Inn.

"Good evening." Bowing low, John had known a smattering of Mandarin his entire life and only increased his vocabulary during his travels. "Do you have a room open?" It was the sort of seedy place that probably charged by the hour if two people came in but that also meant a high turnover for rooms.

"How long do you expect to stay?" Despite the dingy vibe coming from the entire building, the décor itself was not actually that bad. Wooden carvings lined one of the walls in stories of legendary tales that had grown dusty from lack of care.

"At least three days." Spreading a few notes out on the counter, John noticed the cheap watch and knock-off phone. Despite the originally impressive design of the building, it had fallen quite far since construction and ends were stretching lately. But the owners were clearly putting the business before their greed and every surface seemed sturdy. "Do you have any rooms available on a high floor? I enjoy seeing the lights of a city." Judging from the look he received in response, at least one of the words did not mean what he thought it meant. Considering that the receptionist didn't do much more than frown, John assumed it was nothing insulting and more of a minor slip.

"We do." Typing in an adjustment into an ancient computer, a variety of options came back. For the sort of criteria that John had come to value, he couldn't readily walk into a hotel he was comfortable staying in and ask for them outright. Of course, a good friend of his had taught John how to properly phrase the requests in a way that wouldn't bring the police calling.

" _Remember_ ," A voice went unheard to everyone but him. " _Try to avoid sounding like a stalker this time._ " A previous excursion over in India had ended abruptly when poor phrasing had summoned the police to his hotel door. John had been able to distract them long under the guise of a translation error before leaving at high speeds.

"Is it possible to be just higher than the building across?" Pulling a battered camera from one pocket, he put on an air of wonderment. "The way that the city skies tier has been a central point in my portfolio this year. By examining how the light filters and reflects from the urban surfaces," A short and intensely boring spiel about the way broken antenna and flapping washing lines added layers of personality to his photographs later and John was given a room two floors above the neighbouring rooftop. Not bad for a camera that had stopped working two months ago.

Unlike his spacious rooms in Mongolia, this one was cramped to the point of being claustrophobic. A tiny shower cubicle could just about hold him – if he bent at the knees to adjust for the height difference between him and the local populace – with a sink so close to the door that he would have to squeeze around it and lean on one side of the toilet to actually sit down. Ignoring the washroom for the minute, he put his bag on the narrow bed and untied the top. As was usual during any lengthy journey, the contents inside were comfortably at rest.

Carefully bunching up a blanket around the bag, John was restless from his journey into the country. Sitting on a cramped train was one of the only ways that he could easily travel but left him with the pressing urge to stretch his legs afterwards. "I'll be back in a while." Most people would have thought him a bit strange for his talking habits but John was accustomed to enough strange that he no longer thought about it at all. "Enjoy the view." True to his 'photographic needs', the inn had given him a moderately stunning view if the city skyscrapers in the distance with a nice frame provided by the building across the narrow alley.

* * *

Due to the high amount of universities in the Haidian District, much of the populace that lived there were students from all walks of life. While the majority were native Hans, many other ethnic groups had travelled from across the world to study at one of several nearby institutions. John was able to walk through the area with only one or two glances that lasted longer than a few moments.

" _If you're feeling homesick_ " Noting how relaxed the surroundings were making him, that little voice that only he could hear spoke up again. " _There's always that open offer waiting for you. Maybe you could put some thought to it once we've finished here._ " Along a street of mostly coffee shops and bars, he paused outside one selling scholarly jackets. Almost eerily aligned with his head was the sort of flowing jacket his old principal wore.

"Maybe." Shaking free of the reminiscence, he moved on again. "It'd be weird getting stuck in one place after travelling around this long. I get to meet a lot of new faces out here." Although he liked meeting new people, not all the ones John met liked meeting him. That brief pause outside the dark shop had let him check around him for any unwanted followers. John needn't normally be so careful but he was preparing to crash a party and would hate for anyone to ruin his surprise.

" _No decent Duellist should have to scope out their arena for more than a few moments._ " Certain voices manage to sound sniffy even if they were speaking to an audience of one.

"Don't forget," Muttering to avoid drawing more gazes than was necessary, John crossed the road to his final destination. "Right now, we're meant to _not_ be decent Duellists." The Wukesong Arena was not large enough to be world-famous. It had been constructed a while ago for use during the Beijing Olympic Games but fallen out of global fame the instant they closed. Now it was mostly used for basketball, hockey and the occasional private event that nobody looked too closely at.

Main doors would usually be locked at this time so he simply skirted the outside in favour of a less obtrusive entrance. There was usually an open window to slip through or the occasional delivery entrance that didn't shut properly. Rarely was he lucky enough to actually encounter a door that had been left ajar. If John didn't know better, he might have assumed it was his birthday. Carefully slipping through the gap, he entered a dimly lit service corridor that ran beneath the main complex and gently began creeping down the hallway.

It was unlikely that the Rare Hunters would use anywhere but the main arena for their meeting. For some reason, the underground operation could never be pictured have coffee and cake around a conference table. Dim alleys and subterranean meetings places were more easily imagined. So – since John had already done basement round and there was no sign of anyone else in the service corridors – one of the latest members of the Rare Hunters slowly entered the vast, echoing empty space that was surrounded by seats.

For the first time in a number of years, he felt the comforting official feel of a proper Duel Arena. Even after being absent from the circuits for a few years, there was still no way to miss the electric tingle that came from standing on the polished floor. Audience or no, it was impossible to resist the instincts rising in the back of his mind. Almost without his noticing, one hand moved to the wrist where a Duel Disk would be attached, going to draw a card that wasn't even there.

"What are you doing here?" At least a convenient distraction would be able to pull John's wandering attention back into the present. Turning around, he stared directly into the imposing pectorals of an aggressive security guard. One step back and a tightly tilted head let John see the angry face and glinting metal badge.

"Just thought that I'd take a look around to get a feel for the place." Flicking his gaze from those angry eyes to that _very_ shiny badge, John made the sort of decision that a good psychologist would take much longer to arrive at. "You know, get some of my tricks ready before the big event in a couple of days."

"There's no event scheduled for the next couple of days. Now," Jerking a thumb over one shoulder, the stockily built Han was probably able to throw the intruder right out of the facility without much difficulty. "Get out."

"That's good. I mean, you almost had me going for a few minutes there." More like a few seconds. John would freely admit that the imposing guard had given nothing away in his facial expressions or let slip any emotions but there was a dead giveaway pinned right to his chest. "But I've never met a security guard who kept their badge that clean." It was true. Not a lot of police officers could distinguish between their badges and a crudely sculpted rock. "Like I said," Reaching into his breast pocket with two slow fingers, he pulled out his 'Scandal of the Commoner's Hand' card to show the hulking muscle. "I'm just here to get a look at the arena."

For a long moment, the guard continued to scowl. He continued to scowl anyway but the angry tilt lessened slightly at the sight of the invitation. "Looks legit." Barking out a single note of laughter, he tore off his badge. "For a fake card anyway." Reaching into his pocket, he drew out a copy of his own. "Chinese delegation. Call me Han." Whether that was his real name or just his ethnicity was up for debate but John had a feeling that he had just found the man who left an exterior door unlocked. "Didn't expect to bump into anyone else here. At least _I_ came prepared." A careful eye examined John's rugged jacket, worn trousers and dirty shoes. It must have looked like he was down on his luck as opposed to the hardened traveller that he was. "Must be rough, living in your rank." Another dirty look went to that jacket.

"I get by." Giving a carefree smile and rustling his hair, John was more at ease now that he had confirmation that this was another Rare Hunter. "I'm the winner of the Mongolian tournament. Call me John." At the mention of the neighbouring country, Han's face had twisted into a sneer.

"Mongolian _tournament_?" He spat. Literally, gobbed phlegm right onto the floor. "That backwater has less people than this city. Probably all weaklings." Although Han's attitude made John want to correct the other man, he decided not to. Firstly, because the Mongolian Duellists he had faced off against were mostly both weak Duellists and sloppy cheaters. Secondly, he was aware of the vast difference in both height and mass between them. Such an unfair fight would surely draw unwanted attention when Han was found knocked out by somebody half his size.

"Yeah, they weren't that great." Accepting the facts, he tried to put some distance between himself and the supposedly worthless Duellists. "I was just passing through and wound up entering the tournament. Didn't expect it would get me a meal ticket this big." Indicating that they both – being new recruits for the Rare Hunters – were above such petty ranks, John steered the conversation away from himself.

"I heard that this meeting is going to be all the top brass." Even without meaning to, Han was providing a virtual fountain of information. "Us newbies as well. Guy at the top has some big plan. He's got deep pockets as well, judging by this place." Although the Wukesong Arena didn't look too closely at their private events, they still charged a lot more than most people could pay without worrying. "Don't cross me on my way to the top and I won't crush you beneath my boot."

"Okay." Switching out his smile for a more intense look, John was more focused now than before. "But don't blame me when it all blows up in your face. Because I'll be long gone." Receiving a deadly stare in return, the two parted ways and walked off out of separate exits.

Despite himself, John had a feeling that he would have liked Han under different circumstances. He was a stern Duellist through and through but that cheating nature of his undermined all the good work that he could put towards developing the talent. At least he had let slip enough for John to know that he was finally closing in on the upper echelons of the Rare Hunters. Until then, it had constantly been lower and mid-tier guys. Occasionally, his contact would send him a few places that could do with looking into but John mostly worked things out by himself. Knowing that Han was the best recruit in all of China and that he had already taken out the Mongolian delegation, John realised that he could expect nearly two hundred people to show up to the event. As much as he would like to take them all on, he would need to quietly pick his options and bide his time during the gathering.

* * *

 _ **If you have anything nice to say, leave a nice review. It you have anything mean to say, leave a mean review with plenty of detail so I know how to be better.**_


	40. Reneged Deal

With the media scrutinising his every move and those of his friends, Yusei had spent a week successfully putting together a tactic that had forced the International Criminal Court to assess Abi as a person as opposed to a pile of machines. One week had given him the time that he needed to pull off the impossible.

In the same week that the old guard had concocted the perfect plan, the newest Signer had struggled to adapt to difficult circumstances. Most of it had involved plummeting face-first into the dirt wearing little more than a pair of baggy trousers and a sports bra. By the sixth day, she had managed to achieve a struggling distance of fifty feet before landing awkwardly on one arm and gaining a bad sprain. Her only response had been to knot her discarded shirt around the injury and continue on as if nothing had happened. Day thirteen had extended that distance towards almost two-hundred feet before she twigged onto the idea of using the other appendage as a sort of rudder to steer. Eventually, she finally felt good enough at the activity to attempt a proper journey.

Luna was sketching at a table by the pool at her old penthouse that morning. Her artistic skills weren't limited to simple drawings of the next fashion revelation and she kept her talents honed by practising drawings when the mood struck her. All that she needed was a thick paper pad and a few pencils to sketch outlines of what she saw. In reality, in her head, it all flowed out onto the paper. Except when she was carefully sketching a leaf that had somehow blown all the way up into pool and it was suddenly washed over one side as a heavy object landed in the middle of the formerly calm waters.

"When people say to 'drop in'," Looking up with a graceful smile, she watched the impossible sight drag itself onto the lip of the pool and clamber out with an enraged glare. "They don't usually mean it so literally." A towel was languishing on a nearby chair in the event that Luna had decided to take a dip when her sketch was completed. Snagging it with one hand as the other closed her drawing pad, she tossed it over to the uninvited – but not unwelcome – guest.

"Thanks." Drawing it over her face, Musume changed several shades in the process of ruining the towel. She had also left a noticeable trail of grime spreading from her swim through the water. "Where's your brother?"

"Play computer games at the SRC with Abi." Catching the glance, Luna gave a slight shrug to indicate that weirder things had happened and she wasn't phased. She didn't realise that Musume had been completely out of contact until the minute that she dropped into the pool "Long story. What about you?" Both wings were still fully resplendent but Musume wasn't showing the same level of discomfort that had gripped her every second since they had first burst out of her.

"Took up flying lessons." Finally tearing the tattered shirt from her arm, she rotated the limb in order to ensure that it was back in working order. For some reason, the damage had taken a lot longer to fix than any of the cuts and scrapes that she had endured during the attempts. Any hint of blood had healed over inside of seconds but the sprained arm had taken far longer than any of the others. "Still haven't figured out the landings yet so I decided to use the pool here to avoid breaking anything." Picking a few twigs from her hair, she moved onto the more pressing questions than if she had meant her bones of the buildings she might crash into. "What have I missed?" Since entering that impossible bar, she had realised that there was still more to come. No matter how much she wanted it all to be over, Musume wasn't going to let her family be in any sort of danger if she had the means to avoid it.

"Nothing much. Yusei's got the ICC to assess Abi properly, Leo's being used to compare how an average human reacts under pressure. Jack and Crow have been off doing their own thing." Picking up her pad, she followed the still dripping Musume back inside and ignored the fading footprints that she was leaving behind. "Akiza's still taking shifts at work but she was concerned when you left without saying a word." Leaning on a counter as the intruder riffled through her fridge, Luna would admit that she had been both as concerned and a lot less than her friend. "Crow managed to talk her down from calling in every favour Trudge could reach before she got too frantic though."

"Didn't have a phone." Grabbing a tray of sushi, she was sating the sorts of hunger that came from not eating for three straight days. "Would have left a note but then you would have known where to find me." Apologies would have meant admitting that she had regret. Musume refused to regret her actions, ever. Even with her friend giving her an accusatory stare. "Don't worry," Even as she downed enough orange juice to replace an orchard, she caught the very pointed look that Luna was sending her way. "I'll tell them I'm back." Giving her shoulder a cautionary sniff, it was disgusting enough to almost turn her stomach. " _After_ I've had a shower."

"I was going over in a while to help Akiza get ready." Like her gaming brother, Luna could let hours slip away when her pencil was sketching out new ideas just waiting to be made into reality. Lunch was meant to have happened a while before and dinner was looming in the near future. Carefully picking an apple from a fruit bowl, she carefully used a knife to start forming a childhood treat to keep her blood sugar up. "She's going to the ball tomorrow. You're welcome to join us." Even with Musume coated in blood, muck and using her shirt for rags – or maybe because of that – Luna felt that some shared 'girl time' was just what the wild young woman needed.

"Ball? What ball?" Even for those in the know, the exact details of the masquerade were a closely guarded secret. Politicians, bankers, shakers and movers from all over had been invited to an exclusive – not to mention anonymous – event to celebrate the new King of Games. Whilst word had inevitably leaked that New Domino City was holding some sort of event, nobody on the outside knew any of the particulars.

"Lazar arranged a masked ball for Yusei." Perched on the chair and eating the delicate rabbit ears she had cut from her apple, Luna was one of the few people in the city who knew any sort of details about the event. Namely that the star guest would be making an appearance. "Apparently, he wanted to give Yusei a celebration where he wouldn't be swamped by people trying to take advantage of his new title. Since the trial dampened his mood, Lazar asked Martha to ask Akiza to make sure that he goes." More accurately, Lazar had mentioned to Yusei's mother that it was doubtful that anyone could cheer up her son since he was refusing to attend the party being thrown especially for him. Martha had then reached out to the very lovely woman who lived with her son and had the ability to wind him around any finger she wished. By the time Lazar's polite suggestion finally met its target, it had gained the momentum of an avalanche.

Being taken to a ball of the wealthy and famous was most people's dreams but a very real worry to Musume. It would mean a large crowd of potentially dangerous people constantly flocking her mother at every opportunity. "Luna?" Musume had spent the last several days living rough in the wilderness, drinking from a stream and surviving off snacks that she had taken from Poppo Time. Making her presentable would take several small miracles and intervention from a different god than the one burned into her back. "Can I ask a favour?" Giving a slight grunt, she managed to get the wings and tail to recede back inside. It had taken a while to perfect the trick but Musume finally appeared to have it all under control. 'Appeared' being the operative word.

* * *

Once the pair arrived at Poppo Time, they were met with the grim sort of silence that usually followed – or preceded – a murder. Yusei looked ready to throttle his brother and Jack seemed to be chanting a mantra under his breath to keep from doing the same. Nobody gave any sort of indicator they had noticed Musume's return – a sure sign of looming entertainment.

"Hey." Having not sated her appetite back in the penthouse, Musume ducked under the sparking glare and headed straight for the food cupboards. "What's going on?" Drawing a vast pile of freshly stocked snacks into her arm, she slid back to stand beside Luna again. Not wasting time, she dribbled a handful of small crabs into her mouth and began crunching as the drama started.

"My moronic brother made a stupid, reckless deal." Noting the silent presence of Crow by the top of the stairs, Musume leant forward with a question plainly on her face. " _Yes, I'm talking about Jack!_ " It was unusual of Yusei to snap but the group seemed to sense that he had earned it. "Do you know what he did?" There were a lot of things that Jack could be being accused of. As long as it was nothing that would blow back on her, Musume was content to simply sit back and let the argument unfold. "He went ahead and made a deal with (as far as I can tell) Akiza's _phone_ that if I went free, he would give up Red Dragon Archfiend."

Inhaling a messy array of semi-chewed crustacean, Musume began choking and spraying the mess across the floor as Luna pounded her on the back with unsuspected strength. " _What?_ " Although she had been physically present for the discussion, her mind had been hazy at best. Between the fever, delirium and on-going audio hallucinations, she was certain that she had imagined the deal.

"Oh, didn't he tell you?" Toning dripping with sarcasm, he seemed ready to break something. When he had seen Akiza's phone light up with the message ' _Visit Cafe La Geen for coffee and cards_ ' and recognised her own number on the screen, it had taken barely three questions to discover the meaning. When she had visited him in The Facility, Akiza had said that someone had messaged her with a way in. She had never mentioned the cost.

"Stop it." Her father had been a stressed man. Not angry, never violent but constantly under pressure from his job. "Just stop it." Setsuko had taught her daughter the value of allowing him to let some of the steam out in harmless ranting before calming him down further. A delicate touch was required. "What would you have done in his position?"

An ongoing power struggle seemed to be developing in the group. Maybe not a 'struggle' exactly. Just that Akiza had an uncanny habit of forcing Yusei's stubborn streak into complete submission. "That's entirely different and you know it." A delicately raised eyebrow indicated that there was a gaping flaw in his argument because nobody was seeing any difference.

"What if we just don't let them have it?" Breaking apart the argument with a single ludicrous question, the otherwise silent Leo had been sulking at the table in the kitchen area. The ICC had asked him to take some time off and rest from his gaming marathon while they reviewed their current findings. Mainly because Abi had refused to keep playing with someone who kept making blunders as a result of exhaustion and quit the party. "I mean, Yusei's not _really_ free yet. Hiraguchi said that it could take months before they have a final verdict."

"Something tells me that they're not going to see it that way." Now that the aggression had stepped down slightly, Jack was able to stop chanting his mantra without exploding. "I agreed to hand over Red Dragon Archfiend to get Yusei out of prison. He's out. That's good enough for me." Loathe though he was to admit it, their contact had pulled off a minor miracle in finding a way to get Yusei out of the inhumane conditions of his holding cell.

"But what if," Leo was still trying to push the same point but to no avail.

"What if they take back their word when I go back on mine?" There had been plenty of time to think of ways out during the trial. Without enough legal expertise to do more than watch the trial, Jack had spent his time attempting to find a way to keep both his brother and his signature card as well. There was still no viable plan. "Are we okay with letting Yusei go to prison?"

"I'm fine with going back." Nobody paid any attention to Yusei's suicidal demand for imprisonment.

"Face it, this is what we agreed to." Ignoring his brother's reminder that no, _he_ hadn't agreed to anything and there was still time to call it off, Jack continued as if nobody had spoken. "Unless it's in my hands, it's just a card. Nobody is going to get hurt." Again, there was a good chance that Musume could probably utilise the more supernatural evolutions but the average Duellist – whoever the new owner happened to be – would be unable to access them.

"Jack," Came that patient tone.

"Yusei." For the first time that they could remember, Jack was using that same patient tone that had broken up countless arguments between himself and Crow. "We agreed it was worth the price." Again, 'agreed' was a strong word. Jack had acquiesced and the rest had wisely decided not to argue the issue with veins literally pounding against his skull. "If it helps," Placing a comforting hand on Yusei's despairing shoulder, Jack's face was perfectly at ease with the news he was about to break. "I wouldn't have done it for Crow."

"Hey!" Even with the years of anger management having turned his brother into an arguably reasonable man, Crow still felt that he could do with a few more mental tweaks. "Well, _I'd_ do it for Yusei but not you."

"Shame that they had taste in cards." It was clearly not a violation of his therapy to casually throw crude hand gestures at both brothers as he sauntered down the stairs with screams of outrage forcing Yusei to tackle his remaining brother to the ground. Only the women in the room realised how sneakily Jack had taunted his brother into distracting Yusei so that he could make a clean getaway.

* * *

Ever since the trial, Cafe La Geen had seen plenty of traffic. Polite chatter that filled the air died away as Jack was recognised in the doorway of the shop. Sensing the sudden shift in mood, the server at the counter looked up without surprise. "Jack." Plenty of reporters and police were still in the shop. Sorry, not-reporters and not-police. Which made it strange when the queue for ordering vanished as he grew closer to the counter. "It's been a while." Notes were being taken on all sides. Reporters wanted scoops, police wanted gossip for Trudge. No official record of such an order existed but those not-police with the juiciest information would find their expenses being covered in trade.

"Stephanie." Whoever had been sending Akiza messages appeared not to know the cafe was full of people or simply didn't care. There was no easy way to ask if a mysterious stranger was lurking around to take Red Dragon Archfiend from him. He would have to try for small talk. "How've you been?"

"Business has been good." Casting a look around the room caused a lot of people to take an overwhelming interest in the walls, ceilings and tables. Not a single pair of eyes seemed to find the counter worth noticing. Even with such levels of pointed ignorance, nobody noticed the polite evasion.

"New outfits?" Unlike the maid dress that she had worn when working as little more than a server, Stephanie had taken to wearing a suit similar to Mina's when she had worked for Jack. Only the colour was different, a formal black instead of professional blue.

"Manager uniform. We've got a few shops across the city now." There was no need to explain she ran them all. Such a commanding air was unmistakable. "Congratulations on the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament." Lips twitched slightly. Outside of his family, only a few people would be allowed to mention the humiliating lapse of professionalism. Stephanie had the decency to indicate she was talking up the younger man in the Duel as opposed to insulting the one before her now.

"Leo definitely has potential." Not even placing an order, she was already serving up a small cup of his favourite coffee. "I can see why Crow chose him as a replacement for his team."

"From what I have seen, his solo act is certainly one to be rivalled." Placing the cardboard cup – having correctly assumed that he wouldn't be choosing to stay in the overflowing cafe – on the counter, she gave a careful little smile. Anything too hearty would be reported. Anything too cold would turn the comment into an insult. "Polishing his team game should round out his skills a bit more." Watching him reach for his wallet, Stephanie waved away the attempt at payment. "Never mind that. You paid for two cups last time and had to run off before you finished your first one."

"Yeah, my ride to the airport said they would be delayed and then showed up early." Not exactly a newsworthy story, reporters sullenly relaxed in their chairs. "That _was_ ten months ago." Not many opportunities arose where he was in New Domino and fewer where he could stop by his favourite coffee shop. "Here," Before he could stop her, a few notes were slapped onto the counter. "For the next few customers." Looking at the notes and then at the not-police – who couldn't accept the offer for the fear of being reported for taking bribes – and the competing clashes of not-reporters – who wouldn't accept the drinks for fear that she would tamper with them – Stephanie couldn't help but smile at how Jack had matured over the years.

"That's wicked." Putting the notes to one side, she carefully placed a weight atop the money to keep it from being swept away. "See you around."

"Stephanie, wait!" Pens clicked in the silence as he hurried down the counter after her. "Shove off!" Other words almost replaced 'shove' before years of anger management kicked in as Jack turned to stare down the crowded room (and even a few heads clustering in at the openings to outside). "I'm just trying to see if anything was left for me." Disappointment flashed across her face for an instant before Stephanie actually laughed in the silence.

"A package arrived for you in the post this morning." Dozens of people over the years had tried to make contact with the top-tier Duellists living in Poppo Time by sending mail to other buildings around the square. This was the first time that anybody had come looking. "Give me a minute, it's out in the back." Crossing his arms, Jack tapped his index finger in an irritated beat as he slowly glared his way around the room. A few hardened souls tried to meet his gaze and quickly found themselves overpowered by the look in his eyes. Only one person eluded that gaze by virtue of being unnoticeable in the corner. As part of neither the police or reporter camps, nobody was paying any attention to somebody who genuinely seemed to have come simply to sip a drink and read a small book.

If anyone had paid a bit more attention to the figure, they would have realised that the book was on ancient civilisations and that the reading glasses seemed more designed to reflect light than focus the reader's gaze.

"Here you go." An arriving cardboard box spared the bravery of several customers around the shop as Stephanie returned from her brief search. "Care to explain why I'm acting as your mail collector now?" Everything she said was deliberately innocent even while the words forced him into uncomfortable corners with the world listening in.

"Just a joke from a friend." Using that word in connection with the one extorting him was the last thing the wanted to do but ears were still pricking.

"Apologies for opening it." Only a few inches in every direction, the box itself was innocuous enough and – though he hated the fact she had unknowingly taken a risk – at least Stephanie had proven it wasn't a trap. "Your 'friend' added my name as well." Looking at the label on the front of the box, let to Jack's ears reddening slightly. Whoever was toying with him had addressed the delivery to 'Stephanie Atlas'.

"Sorry about that." Deciding that nothing could be lost by having a quick peek, he opened the lid. Inside was a plain sponge cake, the sort that could be brought just about anywhere or made on a budget. Not the type of thing used as a gift or intimidation. Perfect to send a small message. Three words had been written in thick frosting. _Keep the card._

"Everything alright?" Opening the box had meant reading the message and Stephanie had seen far deeper than the simple words. Only one card would be worth trading from Jack's collection. Offering to give it away meant that something dire was going on.

"Much better." Actually offering her a genuine smile – phones were dragged from pockets as the rare sight vanished before a photo could be taken – Jack momentarily calmed her fears with the one expression she had rarely seen before. Suffering the embarrassing joke was worth the expense of retaining his irreplaceable card.

As Jack entered Poppo Time and the reporters were able to flock for the exit, a customer from a quiet table in the corner stowed their book away with the smile and camouflaged themselves in the departing crowd. Stepping around the corner that led to the road instead of heading for the stairs, they hopped over the barrier that led into woodland and vanished amongst the trees before anyone noticed their departure.

* * *

"How did it go?" Trying for sympathy, Crow was finding himself actually feeling bad for his brother. He could only imagine just how desolate he would feel if someone extorted Black-Wing Dragon from him.

Slowly walking up the stairs with a heavy tread, Jack was staring at the box with a sort of empty dumbfoundedness. "They didn't want it." Still struggling with the sudden twist of events, Jack was starting to realise that they had collectively managed to pull it off after all. Yusei was free, the ICC was giving Abi a fair hearing, he was being released from his part of the bargain that had started the entire legal effort. "I went to hand it over but they didn't want it."

"That makes sense." Adapting to the realisation faster than his brother, a wicked grin started to form on Crow's face. "I mean, nobody in their right minds would want your dragon when mine was available." Nobody in the room would slight another's dragon but Crow's jab was light-hearted and more in the line of boasting his own.

"Shut it!" Lobbing the cake – box and all – at his brother, Jack allowed himself the juvenile act as it was out of jubilation and not anger. Alarmed eyes watched as it sailed through the air to splatter against the wall behind Crow's ducking head. A couple of thoughts went towards how long it would take to get the frosting out of the wallpaper but those thoughts were brief as the cheap cake disintegrated to reveal a surprise ingredient dropping to the floor. Wrapped tightly in plastic was a thick black chunk that a few more excitable minds mistook for a deadly explosive. Especially when it lit up on one side.

" **BOMB!** " Reacting faster than most people could think, Crow grabbed Luna around the torso and threw them both backwards down the first flight of stairs. While his brother heroically took the brunt of the fall, Jack sprinted down the hallway and dove into the first room he could. Being less understanding of how dangerous bombs actually were, Leo grabbed a pan from the sink, crammed it atop his head, flipped the kitchen table for cover and tucked himself under a chair. If first-person shooters had taught him anything, it was that furniture could stop shrapnel better than body armour.

Composing an odd trio of hopeful, faithful and suicidal, Yusei, Akiza and Musume watched the antics unfold. If whoever had been helping them wanted to commit murder, there were far more discrete ways – starting with just letting Yliaster win the trial against Yusei. Even if that wasn't a factor, they had ample opportunities from America to strike. Which didn't stop Yusei from edging in front of Akiza slightly. As for Musume, she was almost morbidly curious if a bomb would even be _able_ to kill her. Maybe her cells would just piece themselves back together as the shards pierced through her. Although it might shorten her life slightly, the spirits inside her had patched her right back up in Paris. From near-death to fighting form in bare seconds. Maybe it was that uncaring impulse which let her approach the plastic package while the more cautious family members sought cover.

"Not a bomb." It was funny enough to watch Crow throw himself down the stairs but seeing Leo with a dirty pan crammed onto his head as a protective helmet really rounded the experience off. Unwrapping the plastic sheeting, she uncovered a much more conventional device. "A phone."

"A _phone_ bomb!" Desperate to recover some sense of decorum, Leo was feeling the uncomfortable trickle of dirty water sliding through his hair. Down on the landing between the garage and floor above, Crow was trying not to move because parts of his spine were screaming how misplaced they were.

"No, just a phone." Musume carefully balanced it on one palm as text flashed up on the screen. Pressed against the floor for whatever minimal protection it would provide, Jack carefully inched out from the bathroom as she read the message aloud.

 _Nobody can help you. Keep the phone close._

 _~ Para5yte_

It wasn't a particularly pleasant line to read. Being told that they had no allies was like being reminded that your grandmother had sex – everyone knew it but nobody wanted to talk about it. "At least we have a name." Trying to explain that they had been talking to Akiza's phone this entire time sounded more than a little mad. Being able to name the voice coming from the other end made their conversations a lot easier.

"Parasyte?" Vague recollections stirred in the back of his head. Like Yusei had read the name somewhere before yet couldn't instantly place it. There had to be some reason why it sounded familiar if they operated in completely different circles.

"Do you know them?" Akiza had operated on blind faith since her phone had seemingly started speaking to her. If she hadn't spoken to Abi previously, she might have assumed it was the computer. Even so, it appeared that Yusei had an inkling to their true identity.

"Maybe... It'll come back to me." Despite his reassuring words, he had the look of someone mentally chewing over a problem. Like a song with no lyrics stuck in his head, Yusei was stuck going over the slim piece of information that he had and hoping that something resonated with it.

"I'll hold onto it, for now." Any number of annoying problems could be lurking in the tiny device. It could be tracked, listening to every word they said or – despite their dismissals of Crow's slightly dramatic alarm – a bomb just waiting for the right moment to go off. "Besides," Holding the mobile in one hand, she could feel the heavy weight lying against her palm in a chill pressure. "It's about time I got a phone." Certain advantages came from not technically existing – no taxes, easy to stay off radars that most people didn't know were watching them – while certain disadvantages kept Musume reliant on her friends. Money was a good one. Getting identification was another. At least she might now have the means to keep in contact without having to physically drop by.

"I remember now!" Excited at maybe uncovering a connection to their shadowy contact, the words came out a bit louder than was necessary.

"Great." Rubbing his knee from where it had smashed into the underside of the table in his shock, Leo sounded a tad rueful in his agony. "What'd you remember?"

"It was when I was on some unlisted websites a while ago." Terms like 'dark net' or 'deep web' tended to conjure up shady websites that sold illegal materials. While such places existed, some websites were just kept hidden from the public for more innocent reasons. Navigating them was always a mixed bag. "One of them mentioned a hacker called 'Parasyte' had traded them some classified information."

"What sort of information?" Turning the phone over and over, Musume tried to understand why a custom device would have been sent when a stock model could have worked just as well.

"No idea." Hackers could shed identities as easily as changing a name on a screen. Keeping one long enough to build a reputation let them stand above the rabble drastically raised the risk of being investigated by authorities and tracked down. On the other hand, reputation was everything in the hacker underground. "It wasn't the sort of place that you asked questions." No reputation meant no respect meant no authority meant no questions.

"Wouldn't selling classified information set the authorities on them?" An expert in annoying the authorities himself, Crow was struggling to get inside the mind of a cyber-criminal. It was about as different from his 'recovery excursions' as tax evasion was from stealing a bag of candy.

"Not if it wasn't from governments." For two people who seemed unable to get along for more than five minutes at a time, Jack and Crow were often able to balance each other out. "Stealing from companies can pay a lot better without drawing the sort of attention that people don't like." Industrial espionage was a given. Why cut back on profit margins for research when you can just buy the competition and reverse-engineer it for next to nothing? It was also safer on the criminals as well – the targetted company would typically just retaliate against their rivals, sometimes with the same hackers who infiltrated their own systems. "But why would a hacker randomly want to help us?"

As the discussion continued without progress, Jack's question – despite being the most crucial one – was only half-right. Yes, the quiet voice that had been communicating through Akiza's phone definitely had programming expertise that was used for 'legally dubious' reasons. But as far as random went, they had very good reasons for interfering.

* * *

 ** _If there's one thing you should focus your reviews on, it's this: the cake wasn't a lie!_**


	41. Hunters Gathering

Many people would have called being discovered while scoping out the Wukesong Arena an unfortunate setback. John called it an unparalleled success. Actually, he called it a success because the word 'unparalleled' was a tricky concept. That aside, Han the Han had been incredibly useful. Now he knew that there were multiple new recruits from across the world, that at least one of them had also taken the initiative to investigate their next staging area and both that the upper ranks of the Rare Hunters would be attending and had deep enough pockets to rent the arena for the evening.

As was written on his invitation card, John turned up at precisely 9 PM. No lights were on in the building. It appeared as if he was walking up to dead venue but appearances could be deceiving. "Closed." Giving a sour grunt, a guard near the main doors looked like he had far better places to be.

"I've got an invite." Unlike Han's disguise the other night, this guard actually looked a lot more realistic. John was banking more on the fact that guards rarely did patrols than any visual clues. "Scandal of the Commoner's Hand." Holding up the card, he watched recognition flicker across the stern face.

"You're late." Gesturing to be followed, the guard walked away from the main doors and around the perimeter of the building. "We're just about to lock up."

"It says to be here for 9 PM." Checking the card as he tucked it away, he would freely admit that punctuality was not one of his talents but the young Duellist had made a point of not missing the important event.

"Check the fine print, it says _by_ 9 PM." One day, humanity would overcome their many differences. If it started with grammatical errors, that day couldn't come soon enough for John's liking. He had intended to arrive early and give the building another quick sweep before actually attending the event. Instead, he ended up hustled through a side door with a group of about fifty others. Fifty other people who had the sort of self-loathing that was practically required to join the Rare Hunters. None of them exactly struck him as being nice people.

Leading them down a corridor, the guard was clearly in a hurry to arrive on time. Unlike John's earlier visit, the inside passages were brightly lit and properly ventilated. After a few minutes of silent marching, they were directed into an expansive changing room already filled with roughly two-hundred people shuffling about impatiently. Looking closely would have noticed that a few of them seemed to already know each other but most everyone else were strangers to each other. The way the John saw it, these were the new recruits who were here for their proper induction to the Rare Hunters.

"Robes are in the box." Opting for a one-size-fits-all approach, several large cardboard boxes were piled in the middle of the room and contained a series of lengthy black robes which would obscure any features. "Hurry up and get changed. You're late enough as it is." A mad scramble for the robes resulted as everyone tried to avoid being the person who held up the meeting. Forcing his way through the mess, John was able to grab a handful of fabric and extract himself without too much trouble.

"I hate dressing up like this." Fluffing up the robe as much as was possible, the figure to John's left was quickly indistinguishable from any other. "Don't get why the boss ordered it. I mean, I get the whole 'one among many' thing but we're _Rare Hunters_ , not a cult." If only they knew the exact origins of the group, this particular member might never have joined.

Glad not to have accidentally trapped himself in an underground sex club, John continued to wonder at the reasons for the large meeting. More members were in the room than he had even thought were in the country. What had been approached as a middling branch of the Rare Hunters appeared to be far bigger than was normal. Since China had over a population of over a billion people, it was possible that this was just being reflected in the crowd.

"If you're all ready," Went the words even as the tone said 'you had better be ready', the guard opened the door with a loud slam. He had already donned a robe and was hidden beneath the raised hood. "Then it's this way." Standing a short way down the hallway until they were all outside, he led a slow march towards the main hall that John had sized up the other day. "We're running a bit late." Shouting the words over one shoulder, their guide didn't even bother to look back to check they were all listening. "So just find somewhere to sit and keep quiet." Pushing through a pair of double doors, the mass of the moving crowd kept them from closing as one of them suddenly regretted blending in near the middle. Lights were dimmed to avoid being noticed from outside, the proximity of the people already inside made it difficult to get a proper count but the Wukesong Arena seating capacity was good enough to use as a guideline to estimate by.

John had completely underestimated the level of opposition that he would be facing. When he had entered, it had been fifty people. In the vast changing facilities, it had been the two-hundred he had been expecting. Two-hundred would have been manageable. From the way that every seat was filled and a lot of robes were lining the stairs for the latecomers, a calculating – also despairing, trepidatious and slightly fearful – eye numbered it as being a lot closer to twenty thousand. For the first time since he had found himself frequently encountering Rare Hunters in the course of his normal philanthropic adventures and decided to take them down to cut out a lot of work in the long run, John found himself genuinely feeling a bit out of his depth.

* * *

Thankful that his laidback nature kept him from arriving on time and being cornered in a seat, he was able to take the slimmest refuge by squatting on a set of stairs near to one of the exits. If the worst happened, he could hopefully get through the crowd and escape before they organised themselves for a chase. With the final group having arrived and the doors locked tight, the already dim lights dropped away entirely. Only one still shone down on the main court where a single figure was walking. Unlike the rest of the hidden figures, this one wore a robe etched with gold thread around the hems to distinguish them from their followers.

"Looks like all you _#$%_ made it then." Jeers and shouts came at his words. It appeared that this leader didn't care for his underlings nor they for him. "You know what? _#$%_ you!" Although John had stumbled into the vast gathering by what was almost an accident, he hadn't expected the leader of the Rare Hunters, one of the most insidious underground Duelling organisations in the world to be so completely uncharismatic. With twenty-thousand people in the arena alone and more still around the world, he would have anticipated more of a hypnotic personality.

"So," Waving for silence like some preacher, a pair of calloused hands calmed the rowdy crowd. "So, we're all here. I know a lot of you utter bastards," More jeers and insults came before he calmed them down again. "A lot of you complete and total _bastards_ have been complaining about how we've been doing things the last few years." That was news. Every time that he had encountered a group of Rare Hunters, they had been proud of properly organised for the first time in years. "Having you cut off a lot of the rabble, keeping recruiting low, stopping a lot of you from talking to each other and asking before doing anything stupid. You didn't like having to take orders from someone higher in the chain than you. But look at us now!" Raising both hands and turning on the spot, he raised a loud cheer this time. "Chapters in every country in the world, police barely aware that we still exist and Industrial Illusions reporting that even they can't figure out where counterfeit cards are coming from. Tell me, are we careful or cowards? Hunters or prey?" Shaking his hands for emphasis, the gold trim fluttered in the dim light as he demanded an answer. "Who are we?!"

" **Rare Hunters!** " Came back the roar. Despite himself, John was starting to realise why people followed this man. He was abrasive, insulting, utterly unscrupulous but spoke to all the grimy little thoughts in people's heads. He made it okay to be utterly evil. And the only clue that he had to their identity was that gruff accent.

" _He certainly knows how to play the crowd._ " Tightening a grip beneath his cloak, the intruder was unable to directly respond to words that only he could hear. " _Maybe you could pick up a few things._ " Down on the floor, the speaker had resumed talking.

"It is not often that we get guests in these meetings." Clamouring shouts dropped away at the words. "Not ever really. Sometimes a new recruit comes and hears one of these big speeches. Decides that enough is enough and that we're not all born with a silver spoon or family heirlooms." That got a rousing roar before it was wiped out again with a wave of one hand. "So we bend the rules a bit. So what? It lets us have the same opportunities as a lot of people out there. We can't all be as famous as the King of Games." Jeers sounded and that little voice in the back of John's head started speaking again to reinforce his gut instinct that he should be sneaking back out. "Or as lucky as his replacement. Remember the big news last year? _'Yugi Muto reveals the next King of Games.'_ An upstart kid that nobody knows." Careful not to jostle too many people, John carefully began making his way for the nearest exit. No bad guy speech that began pointed ever ended on a calm note. "But what is he really? What do we call a monarch who hasn't claimed the crown?"

"An Uncrowned King!" On some hidden signal, the exits were suddenly barred by bodies so large that the cloaks couldn't really each the floor. The trio clustered by the nearest exit hulked up against him as John suddenly realised just how many people he would have to fight to get out. Twenty to one was his record. Twenty-thousand was probably a few too many to be handled all at once.

"Looks like somebody has other places to be." Out on the arena floor, the speaker had spotted the one body heading for an exit. "How about we don't _#$%_ up your plans for the evening and cut this performance short?" Turning to look at the mastermind behind the entire plan, 'John' had strong reservations about his plan far too late. "Come on up here." A path opened up to the stairs and there was no doubt the crowd would turn into a mob if one step went wrong. "Face me like a man." One careful step after the other brought the stolen cloak to the top of the stairs where it could face down the ringleader. "How about you lower that hood? Let us all get a look at you." A rumbling went through the crowd. They were aware that something was happening on the illuminated stage but it was difficult to with the bright light managing to shroud the faces hidden beneath the hoods. "Word of advice – ditch the jacket next time, 'John'. It's so stupid that I saw you coming from last month."

"Hey, don't mess with the jacket." Schlepping off the dark fabric revealed a scarlet icon that had faded slightly but been treated with love and care over the years. "It's a lot better than one of those robes." Tears had opened and been sewn closed with exacting detail. Fabric hung slightly loose where it had always been a size big but it was worn well.

"Ladies, gentlemen and scum of the earth." Even with his face openly revealed and his secret displayed for everyone to see, the man who had gone by 'John' for a few years now had a gut instinct telling him that no cover identity would have worked that evening. One way or another, it would have fallen apart. "Meet the reason why we've been compartmentalising over the last few years. The 'Uncrowned King' himself, Jaden Yuki." While he didn't yet recognise the ringleader, they had been able to pick him out from across the hall. Another knot tightened in his stomach as Yubel continued to try and push advice in a voice that only he could hear. "You've been _#$%_ ing up our plans for how long? Since _Venice_?" A sinister implication of the word stirred uneasy feelings in his gut.

Venice should have been an easy challenge. He had met up with Syrus after his old friend had been attending a tournament in the aquatic city. A few cards had gone missing from the rare Cyber Deck when he had stepped out of his dressing room for a moment. They had been replaced with good fakes but the unique Cyber Dragons had rarely been in official hands and an error in the artwork had tipped him off to the forgeries. There were surprisingly few branches of the Rare Hunters in floating city and only one that actually had scope beyond printing fake cards or stealing them from unwary Duellists. Then the skies had opened and Jaden's weird life had got a whole lot weirder. Of course, nobody knew the truth about what had happened there. Just the three impossible friends – Yugi from the past, Yusei from the far future and Jaden himself. With an idea of how dangerous even the most simple acts could actually be, that had been when he started tracking the Rare Hunters in earnest.

"As long as you guys keep stealing cards, I'll keep coming to stop you." Brave words when standing in the belly of the beast. Jaden was willing to admit that he would probably never be able to completely eliminate the Rare Hunters but every time they grew large enough to steal any important enough cards, the Spirits would pass it along to him. The Rare Hunters were slowly starting to learn to keep a lid on their activities. Small victories were still victories.

"Let's settle this the right way." Unveiling a Duel Disk strapped to his arm, the mix of shadows and overhanging lights only made it more difficult to look under the hood. "Here's the stakes: when I win, I get your Deck and, well, you die. Sound fair?"

"What if I win?" Always willing to take up a challenge – the bigger stakes bringing more fun – Jaden moved an old Academy Duel Disk from his back to his forearm. It had been uncomfortable to hide but he wouldn't have trusted any of the models provided by the Rare Hunters. Any of them could have been rigged. Just like with Ryuga.

 _What?_ Shaking his head clear, Jaden tried to focus on the match. He didn't know any Ryuga. That was weird. Maybe he was just mistaking one of the Rare Hunter's victims. Whatever the case, it would have to wait.

"Let's make it fair." It appeared as if his momentary lapse in concentration had gone unnoticed. " _I'll_ let you go free." Clamouring whistles and threats of bodily torture indicated that the people up above didn't consider themselves part of that arrangement.

"What do I call you?" Pulling his Deck from where it had been stored in his breast pocket, Jaden felt that electric tingle. Oh yeah, _this_ was what he had been missing. Two Duellists, two Decks, one field, one victor. Sneaking around sabotaging counterfeiting rings and rescuing stolen cards had kept him busy with altruistic work but this was what Jaden really lived for.

"Call me Outlaw."

* * *

(Turn 1)

Outlaw: LP: 4000 Hand: 6 Field: None Graveyard: None

Jaden: LP: 4000 Hand: 5 Field: None Graveyard: None

"Don't mind if I have the first go." Being an international criminal and literally calling himself an outlaw, it was no surprise that the Rare Hunter was stealing the first turn. "Draw." Looking out across the field, Jaden knew that he could be facing any number of rare and powerful cards, counterfeit or not. The Rare Hunters had a long reach and deep pockets. "I set one monster and two cards." Going first in a Duel meant that you had the advantage, whether to build your forces or lay traps for your opponent. "Come on then," Beckoning with a crude middle finger, it was clearly now Jaden's turn. "Show us what you can do, _my liege_." Mocking laughter sounded from all over at the sarcastic title.

(Turn 2)

Outlaw: LP: 4000 Hand: 3 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Jaden: LP: 4000 Hand: 6 Field: None Graveyard: None

At least one of those two cards was probably a Trap. Okay. So he just had to make sure not to trip them. "I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart(L4/1500/1600)!" Drawing his sword from the blue circle even as his own legs were still materialising, the barbarian hero made for an imposing sight. "Due to his effect, he's immune to your Trap Cards. Let's take a look at what monster you had hiding."

"Just like your predecessor – rushing in at the start without thinking it over." Even as Wildheart stabbed his sword down through the surface of the card, he roared in pain. "That muscle-bound buffoon is only immune to actual Trap Cards and not plain old traps." Stumbling back to his side of the field, Jaden's fighter had a large red sphere pinned painfully tight to his body. "Traps like my Blast Sphere." As soon as it was attacked, it became an Equip Spell and froze the monster that had attacked it. And when Jaden's next turn came around, it would destroy Wildheart.

"I'll throw down three cards." Mirroring Outlaw's own playstyle was all that he could do that turn. "And end my turn."

(Turn 3)

Outlaw: LP: 4000 Hand: 4 Field: 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Jaden: LP: 4000 Hand: 2 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

"It's funny." Peeling a new card from his Deck, the Outlaw had an unpleasant smile just barely visible beneath his hood. "At this point, it's better to do nothing this turn. I mean, I could easily take down that over-grown ape but it wouldn't do as much damage as just letting things happen." Picking over his hand, he settled on a strategy. "I summon Gradius (L4/1200/800)." Hovering on his side of the field was a small, futuristic ship in gleaming silver bodywork. "And I think I'll bulk it up with Cyclon Laser." An Equip Spell unique to Gradius, it added 300 ATK and DEF even as it allowed Piercing Damage to take place. "That'll do for now. We'll pretend that your bluff worked."

Events were looking increasingly worse for Jaden. Outlaw was pulling none of his punches and had seen through his attempt to hold him at bay by pretending that his hidden cards were threatening. And now he was about to take a serious blow.

(Turn 4)

Outlaw: LP: 4000 Hand: 3 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Jaden: LP: 4000 Hand: 3 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Being immune to Trap Cards did Wildheart no favours. As soon as Jaden's turn started, it exploded in a bellow of pain and fire. He also took a sharp drop of 1500 Life Points from the secondary effect of Blast Sphere. Looking from between thrown arms that had shielded his eyes from the blast, Jaden glared at his opponent. "You'll pay for that."

" _Be careful._ " Flanking him from behind, Yubel knew intimately how much he cared for every one of his friends. " _There is something strange going on here. This man is too at ease, even for a cheater._ " Exactly what was out of place, she couldn't say. Only that she had felt a flicker of it a few days before when Jaden had been practising different combinations.

"I activate Elemental Mirage." Even though Wildheart was known for being immune to Traps, that only worked when it was on the field. Since it had been sent to the Graveyard, Jaden could use this one to bring it back but at a slight cost.

"That card doesn't just bring back your monster." Smirking to his followers, Outlaw was clearly toying with the infiltrator. "It resets _all_ monsters that just left the field. Your Wildheart, my Blast Sphere." Even as the warrior clambered back to his feet, that same bomb launched itself across the field to attach to him all over again. "All that you did was set everything up to happen again."

"Not if I sacrifice him to summon Elemental Hero Prisma(L5/1700/1100)!" Crystallising from the ground, Prisma looked like an angel had been crudely hewn from massive gemstones. "And that's not all because I equip it with the Great Sword." Although Wildheart had gone to rest peacefully this time, that massive sword had been left behind for Prisma to take up and wield in his stead. "Take down that toy plane!" Swooping across the field, that rugged weapon carved down the curved middle of Gradius with the added power boost to Prisma's natural strength resulting in a massive explosion. "That was for Wildheart."

"Well, whoop-de- _#$%_ -do." It appeared that only Jaden appreciated the artistry of his tactic. "You scored a few small points." Then Outlaw flipped up a card of his own. "For all the good that it did. Call of the Haunted!" Dredging the ruined machine back from the scrap heap, it was obvious that Jaden wasn't the only one who could instantly recover his destroyed forces. Setting one card, he ended his turn.

(Turn 5)

Outlaw: LP: 3500 Hand: 4 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap

Jaden: LP: 2500 Hand: 1 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap

"You're out of your depth. Mechanicalchaser(L4/1850/800)!" Floating out with no visible means of propulsion was the bastard offspring of a metal beach ball and iron age weaponry. "Machine Conversion Factory." An Equip Spell which boosted a Machine-Type monster by 300 ATK and DEF. Not the final move but enough to overpower his Prisma. But it was only one monster. He would easily be able to pull through. "Don't relax just yet. My Gradius is about to play the part of my," Flipping up his other hidden card, Outlaw watched as Jaden's calm was shattered by understanding. "Tribute Doll." It was a powerful Spell that allowed the Special Summon of one Level 7 monster with only a single tribute. The drawback was that the summoned monster had to wait a turn before attacking but it was enough to build a powerful defence in a single turn. "Coming here was a gamble but you forgot the most important rule of gambling: the house always wins." Dropping from the sky was one of the most pervasive betting machines in history. "Let's play the odds, Slot Machine(L7/2000/2300)!"

"Good thing the numbers say I've still got a turn left." Confidence was only in his tone. The only Trap he had set was Hero's Backup and it could only be activated if his monster had 1000 ATK less than his opponent's.

"Let's see if you're still so cocky when my turn comes back around. Mechanicalchaser, shatter his monster!" Setting to work on Prisma with knives, swords and a spear, the machine quickly cracked the creature into it fell into rubble and vanished. "Just to round it off, I equip my Slot Machine with a 7 Completed." With its attack boosted to 2700 and a decorative '7' appearing on the central reel, the gambling machine was only held back by its summoning conditions. "Face it," There was just the slightest glint of enjoyment coming from the criminal. It was the first honest Duel that he had been in for years. "There's no way that you can summon a more powerful monster in one turn."

(Turn 6)

Outlaw: LP: 3500 Hand: 1 Field: 2 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

Jaden: LP: 2350 Hand: 2 Field: 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap

"Maybe I can't get a more powerful monster than yours." Only a few existed in the stack of cards tied to his arm and all of them beyond his ability to summon before Outlaw finished him off. Luckily, Jaden rarely resorted to raw strength. "But my Elemental Hero Thunder Giant has the perfect effect to level the field."

"Thunder Giant... Thunder Giant." Muttering the name to himself, Outlaw pretended that he hadn't prepared for this Duel. "Yeah, I don't think you've got the _#$%_ to pull that one off. Especially not with just two cards." Laughter jeered down at Jaden from those who knew what Thunder Giant could do. By discarding a card, it automatically destroyed a monster with a lower original ATK. Unfortunately, he needed three cards just to get it off the ground and a fourth for the effect.

"Well, I've already got Sparkman in my hand." That was one half of the equation and his fresh draw might be able to find the other half. "And check this out. Pot of Greed!" Boos sounded as the iconic grinning pot boosted his hand by two cards yet neither of them was he looking for. "Looks like my luck is still holding in there. I activate E – Emergency Call!" It was far more accurate than Pot of Greed. Instead of adding the top two cards of his Deck to his hand, it added one 'Elemental Hero' monster that he designated and he was quick to pick the other necessary monster, Elemental Hero Clayman.

"Not bad. But you'd need a lot of luck to get both cards that you need and you're still one short." Outlaw's words struck gold and it showed. Hidden cameras revealed the spare card as Gift of the Martyr as cheaters in the audience watched in glee. "Looks like that's all you get."

"Yeah, I didn't get to draw them both this turn." Ruffling up his hair, that unstoppable smile gave everyone in the hall a slight pause. "Good thing that I tucked this one away for later." Flipping up his earlier bluff, Jaden revealed the centrepiece of his entire strategy – Polymerization. "I merge together Sparkman and Clayman to Fusion Summon the mighty Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!"

In truly spectacular fashion, his monster failed to appear. No glitching motor to deliver the card, no change to the field as the hologram prepared to appear. Literally nothing. "What the," Looking down at his Duel Disk, a chill ran through Jaden. That was the first time that he was forced to realise that something was very wrong.

" _Jaden, where did you get that card?_ " Even Yubel was unsettled by the sight. Like Clayman, the card being spat out from his Graveyard was a Level 4 Monster. Like his intended target, it was an Earth-Attribute. It even had the same high attack power and a similar earthy motif. But Jaden had never laid eyes on Elemental Hero Woodsman in his life.

"Don't tell me." Beneath the jeers of the crowd, across the space between them and despite being on opposite sides, Outlaw sounded almost regretful. "That's not a card you put in your Deck." Snapping up his head to look at his opponent, Jaden didn't need the ethereal whisper of Yubel in one ear to know to be careful. "And it's probably not the first time." No, it wasn't. Flashing back to his preparation for the final round of the Mongolian tournament, he remembered that perfectly fitting card which had simply vanished from between his fingers. Legacy of a Hero. A card that hadn't even been registered on the Industrial Illusions database when he checked during his journey to China.

"Well," Staring down at his own card, the leader of the Rare Hunters seemed sicked by what he saw. Although it was difficult to be entirely sure, Jaden thought that it was one of the first cards that he had drawn. "Looks like that's all we're going to get done today." Reaching under his hood, one hand pressed against his left ear. "I'm done with this _#$%_. Get your arses in here."

Sirens suddenly blared from all around the building. Shouts in every language sounded as private forces had been hired to assist the underwhelming Chinese police service. Every entrance poured in a suppressive force, every exit turned into an inflow of angry faces, riot gear and stun guns while a few quick-thinking yet still thick Rare Hunters tried to escape via the roof only to find themselves surrounded by a squad that had been dropped off by helicopter. Everyone had been focused on the Duel and nobody had noticed the quiet infiltration until it was too late.

With everyone in the arena currently running around like headless chickens, only two people moved with any purpose. Outlaw, who raced towards a perfectly disguised hatch in the centre of the field, pulled it open and dropped through before the open area could be flooded by his followers fleeing nowhere in particular. The other was Jaden, moving in the same instant and catching the hatch before it could close. By the time that anyone else reached it, he had already engaged the heavy bolts secured on the underside. It was time that he had a talk with the leader of the Rare Hunters and there was no room for anyone else in the conversation.

Game Over

Result: Inconclusive

* * *

Whatever cramped showmanship tunnels Outlaw had dived into weren't even tall enough to crouch through. The pair were shuffling along at speeds, frequently needing to employ knuckles when knees scraped against the floor or heads had to duck underneath pipes. Running a few hundred metres can take a couple of minutes. Trying to cover that distance when movement is restricted to the style of an elderly chimp and the haphazard chase was more inefficient than Jaden would have believed.

Suddenly, the dark cloak slipped down a junction that had been completely hidden by his outline. Chasing after his prey, Jaden was forced to admit defeat when a rusty metal gate was slammed in his face and locked fast before he could stop it.

"Looks like you don't catch me today." Breathing heavily, Outlaw slumped against the wall just out of reach. "Close, but second place is still first loser." Jaden had heard that line thrown around a lot by the Rare Hunters he had taken down. Generally right before they lost.

"Silver medal is better than no medal." Sitting against his side of the gate, there was no point in trying to find a way around. By the time he figured out a way to reach the other side – if there even was one – his quarry would have long since fled. "But I might still have won that Duel." If there had been time to think up a better strategy or figure out what had been happening.

"Maybe." Catching their breath, they were still on opposite sides of the barrier. With the hatch locked, there was no chance of either the Rare Hunters or the arresting force finding them any time soon. "Did you ever think about how you got this far by yourself?"

"Friend on the inside." There was no point in keeping secrets anymore. All the ringleaders had been caught in one fell swoop. The arena was surrounded. As soon as the pair stepped outside, they would be taken into custody. Jaden would just have to hope that a few friends in high places would be able to bail him out. "They sent me some tips from time to time. Not much, just enough to get me started."

"Messages like 'be early this time', do you mean?" Recognising the words, the younger Duellist carefully shifted to one side to easier look at the black cloak. "I told you the Mongolia tournament would be important." Back when he had been staying in Erdenet, those were the words that had been sent to Jaden. Words that had led him to Ulaanbaatar, to Bejing and now to this very tunnel. It was impossible to have controlled everything in the last few years with his random wanderings but the last month had been perfectly orchestrated.

"Why did you do it?" Crouched in a grimy tunnel was hardly the revelation of secret identities that Jaden had been anticipating. "Why did you lead the Rare Hunters only to sell them all out?" There were far more effective ways to take down the Rare Hunters than a single Slifer Red Duellist who hadn't been in a proper tournament for several years. Thinking over the question seemed to give Outlaw a wistful air.

"It's funny. Back before all this, I used to be a good Duellist. One of the best." Standing on the other side of the locked gate, the Rare Hunter looked back at Jaden with a strange look. "When you see our boss, you tell him that I expect my due." He sounded weary now that it was all over. Both of them had been at the game long enough but one of them had been at playing it almost too long.

"I don't have a boss." Everything that Jaden had done over the past few years to track down the Rare Hunters had been on his terms. "It's just me." And a host of invisible friends with his old teacher's ghost currently inhabiting a cat.

"Go down the tunnel behind you." Ignoring the effort that it had taken – with or without help – to get that far, Outlaw pointed back down the junction they had passed. "There's a uniform waiting at the bottom of the ladder. It'll get you past the cordon. Once you're out, go _home_ , Jaden. You'll find your answers there." Turning around, he hobbled away as fast as the narrow opening allowed. "Good luck." For a defeated and deposed leader, he seemed to be taking everything in stride. "You're going to _#$%_ ing need it."

From all his journeys across all the countries, Jaden had never met anyone who could curse quite like his inside source. It wasn't so much any particular expletive as it was an outlet of various emotions. Funnily enough, it was so distracting that he couldn't actually remember what had been said afterwards.

* * *

 _ **I know, it's the first Duel in a while. Honestly, they're the hardest part about writing this story. If you have any tips to make them easier, would you mind posting them in your review? You know, the one you were going to write anyway ;)**_


	42. Info Broker

Unlike the majority of the group, Akiza was both in and enjoying full-time employment. Which meant that she left Poppo Time every day for several hours while the rest of them lazed around with no real progress to show. Yusei was spending his time keeping appraised of the news reports regarding Abi and barely left from the computer station in the garage. Crow was using the extended downtime to enjoy the use of his own bed with the knowledge that nobody was going to rouse him from his rest with demands for team practice or interviews. Mysteriously, Jack had gone out without humble-bragging about his plans. Which left Musume with her new phone from a hidden sender. It was not going well.

She had been trying to force her way into the device for a while now without success. There were hidden folders, redacted file names and entire programs that refused to even boot. Whoever had sent her the phone seemed to be taunting her, locking up the screen with a dull copy of the Mark of the Crimson Dragon whenever she tried to access anything that might actually be of any use. Resorting to the brutal force of throwing it at the wall had resulted in a despairing look from Akiza and a demand from Yusei that Musume fix the resulting hole. Whatever materials the phone had been made from were far sturdier than the wall it had been lodged in.

Worse, she had put it down to make her third cup of coffee that morning only to turn around and see it smothered beneath the hindquarters of a fair-furred feline that stared back at her with disrespect reflecting in each iris. "Move it, furball." Human people would lean back and spread their arms. Hoshi just carefully folded her legs under her like a crab and sighed contentedly as she closed her eyes. "Okay then." Since literally the day that she had been born, life hadn't made things easy. Everything from her mother dying to screwing over history in an ill-conceived attempt to save her family from early death. A cat sitting on the most impossibly stubborn phone she had ever known was nothing. "Let me just," Half a second after she made the perfect plan, the sort of blistering insults which would have permanently shamed Akiza for being related to her pounded through the room. At least, as far as the ones that were spoken in a language they could recognise.

"What's wrong?!" Launching himself out of his room with enough speed to bounce off the wall, Crow's fatherly role dragged him from a lengthy morning nap to see what was happening to his daughter from another future. A large part of him had expected another relapse into the dilemma that had struck in France. Although she had torn her shirt when the wings had slipped beyond control during the moment of pain and outrage, that was not his most pressing concern.

"I've got a pounding headache, people keep screwing with my life and I will _skin_ you like an orange unless you move your fat, _fluffy_ behind off that phone." Not many people could include the word 'fluffy' in a threat but Musume was fairly sure that she conveyed the point properly because Hoshi leaned forward and hissed. Eyes glowing from within with an unholy light, Musume lessened the gap and growled right back. In an astounding display of animalistic bravery, the cat refused to back down.

"Okaaay." Pulling her away from the cat before more blood could be shed on either side, Crow was slightly alarmed at the shift in her behaviour lately. "You do know that's a _cat_ , right? Not some demon spawn." One of the perks of having Crow mooch off free boarding by virtue of being his brother (Yusei was looking up at the floorboards above his head and wondering if the lack of screaming was good or bad at the same time that the pair were debating how to deal with his cat) was that it meant he didn't have to deal with the fallout Musume mooching off free boarding by virtue of being Akiza's daughter.

It didn't escape his notice that any number of problems could be solved if people would just stop mooching off family hospitality.

"Go on," Keeping her extra appendages inside was more of a struggle when people – or cats – were going out of their way to get in hers. "Try getting the phone back." Sucking on the back of her hand, she glared at the cat as it glared straight back.

"Aww, you're just a adorable liddle puddy-tat, aren't you?" Reaching out, he fluffed the top of the cats head affectionately. "How about you move just a little bit so that I can," Nobody alive could resist the Hogan charm. Just Martha, his brothers, Trudge, Mina, Sherry, the French people as a whole, approximately nine-eighths of women he hit on (there were a few return encounters on the Duelling circuits which skewed the statistics), his daughter from a different future (which he put down to an immunity grown from years of exposure) and – judging by the fresh lines on the back of his hand – cats. "Argh, mother" Catching the smug and savage look that Musume was sending his way, Crow forced his jaw shut before it could be finished. "Bad cat. Very bad cat."

"What's going on?" Hearing Musume shouting stirred self-protective instincts to run in the other direction to avoid the fallout. Hearing his brother shouting brought out Yusei's instincts to protect his family and run towards the fallout. Seeing her master, Hoshi carefully stretched, slipped from the table and meandered over to curl around one leg with instincts that allowed her to evade any sort of repercussions.

"I'm going to eat her." Looking down at the mewling feline by his feet, Yusei tried to reconcile the depth of emotion with the target. Surely even Musume would struggle to hate an affectionate cat? Then he remembered how much she hated him for no reason that he knew of and heard what her next threat. "You're going to be _lunch_." A nice stir-fry would probably go well. Add a dribble of soy sauce to overcome the stringy taste. She could practically smell the sizzle already.

"What did she do?" Although the cat looked innocent, it was the same way his brothers tried to look innocent when they had just done something. Considering that she had once defecated in Jack's shoes, it was possible that she was actually in the wrong here. Not enough to be lunch but still in the wrong.

"She stole my phone." It sounded a bit juvenile when she actually said it aloud.

"She stole your phone?" Reaching down, he picked up the impossibly deadly feline which lacked either thumbs to pick up the phone or the jaw strength to hold it properly. "How did she do that?" Curled up in one arm, Hoshi started purring to gain his affection. "Hush." He knew enough about the situation not to be fooled so easily. No matter how much she tried to nuzzle at his jaw.

"She sat on it and wouldn't get up. And then she scratched my hand!" Holding up her own hand produced no evidence that Yusei could see. The cuts had healed over by the time his brother had arrived and vanished completely by the time he got there. " _And_ she got Crow!" Holding up his bleeding appendage definitely garnered some pity. A grown man should know better than to disturb a hissing cat.

"You mean the phone that doesn't work? The one that Crow thought was a bomb?" The bruises on his back were definitely impressive but he regretted not landing on one side instead. Evaluating the situation, a calling as a hostage negotiator was definitely available if his callings to science and Duelling fell apart. "How about _I_ fix the hole in the wall and _you_ promise not to eat Hoshi?" With both parties at fault in this situation, he was willing to let bygones be bygones and keep his cat from being eaten by patching a wall.

"Only if she keeps out of my way." Glaring at the feline, she managed to dull the shine in her eyes. Then Hoshi yawned aggravatingly and her eyes flashed angrily.

"How about we go for a drive?" Seeing the slight step back that his brother took away from the obvious danger, Crow carefully nudged Musume in the direction of the stairs. Keeping Hoshi nuzzled against his chest to avoid any further issues, Yusei circled in the opposite direction as they descended out of sight.

"Here," In one hand was the phone Crow had rescued from the table while Hoshi was cosying up to Yusei. In the other was a spare leather jacket that he had bought to replace the one that she had lost in Paris. "Try to keep better track of it this time." Meaning the phone and whatever was stored inside. "Come on." A slim helmet had come with the Dilucesco. Just like the Duel Runner it was paired with, the style was streaked with gold and crimson. Tossing it through the air, Crow was already sliding on his own by the time she caught it. "Let's get some air." Which would have been a really cool phrase to depart on had there been enough room to easily pull out of the garage. Having five Duel Runners crammed into the space meant that they had barely enough room to inch out of the garage.

* * *

Right up until the events of the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament, Jack was the most famous Duellist of the day. People were aware that Yusei was still around but a lack of performances had lowered him in public standing. So when he had blasted back out of retirement, destroyed the entire competition at every level and gone on to win the King of Games title by default (there was a vast, growing movement to have him Duel either Jack or Leo to consolidate the victory (with a smaller movement to have him Duel both of them at the same time)) Jack had found himself reliving the same strange of invisibility that had struck him the last time that Yusei had surpassed him. Unlike last time, he had an understanding of what would happen. There was also – although the term could only loosely apply when Jack was involved – a plan.

Even an activity as innocuous as sitting on a bench had been impossible just a few months ago. He had currently been sprawled across a seat for the last twenty minutes without any incident. With his eyes closed and a hat pulled low over his face, he had even been able to take a short nap in preparation of what lay ahead. "Sorry, I'm late." Opening his eyes as his contact finally arrived, Jack straightened the casual blue jacket he was wearing as he rose to his feet. "I had to finish up an article before the deadline tonight. Have you been waiting long?" Hurrying as fast as her heels could bring her, Carly still had a pencil tucked behind one ear and the top two buttons of her yellow silk shirt in the wrong holes. Which didn't mean she had an excuse to avoid his restrained ire.

"A museum?" To Jack's understanding of the world, a museum was one step away from being a graveyard. At least it had been streamlined to only include the highlights of the best people but still a graveyard. "I had to get a _bus_ for this?" Public transport was a sort of torture for Jack. He had no control over arrival, departure, route, if anyone else would be sharing the ride with him, chances of being recognised. It was difficult to hand over control but calling a taxi would have been a dead giveaway to his destination. Besides, everyone _knew_ that Jack Atlas didn't get the bus.

"Trust me, you're going to want to see this." Dragging him in by the hand, she knew that he would have left it he hadn't intended to follow through on his promise. Since it was a public museum, she dropped a handful of spare coins and loose notes into a donation box near the entrance as she grabbed one of the colourful pamphlets on the way past. Up two sets of stairs, along a dizzying freestanding glass corridor and into a spacious annexe, they practically had the rooms to themselves in the middle of the working day. "Here we are."

"Where, exactly?" Noticeable waves of irritation were rolling off him by now. A museum was bad enough on a good day. Being dragged through one at speeds that made people look and take notice was not his idea of keeping a low profile.

That he had any idea of keeping a low profile was thanks in no small part to his therapy, brothers and attempts to visit Martha without being followed constantly being foiled until he learned better.

Stopping just before an archway, Carly was slightly out of breath in her attempt to make up for lost time. "They're doing a photography exhibition on modern Duelling." And since Yusei rarely set foot on the field, the photographs had focused on a more frequent flier. Several screaming pictures of Jack's face were looking down from various angles. "I thought it might be fun to have a look."

"Fun?" Looking through at the exhibit inside, his tone suggested that she had just declared herself the queen of the moon. "In a museum?" Museums were designed to look back at the past. Of course, looking back at his own past might just be enjoyable enough to waste an afternoon on. "Well, Leo managed to force me into a draw," Not-frowning in that way that he only showed around her, Jack's hands carefully buttoned her shirt in the right order as she squeaked slightly in embarrassment. "So I suppose that anything's possible. Shall we?" Holding out an arm like a gentleman, he waited impatiently until she took it.

"Did I said that I was sorry for being late?" She was blushing again and feeling just a bit dizzy. Not for the first time, she considered that maybe therapy would do her some good as well. The only problem with considering it was that her brain inevitably drew the link to Jack's therapy, to maybe them getting therapy together and then realising they were married in this scenario. Fortunately, Jack had recognised one of the large prints just inside the door and dragged Carly in alongside him.

"I remember this one." Leaning in, he studied the level of detail with interest. "The Brazilian Open, three years ago." Squinting slightly to avoid actually burying his face in the picture, he tried to make out the smallest detail. "Ha, I knew it!" Leaning back with the smug expression of pure correctness, he leaned in to whisper in Carly's ear. "I said that my mechanic was snacking between laps. No cameras in the bay so they got away with it."

"You also managed to win the entire competition in under forty moves." Records were made to be broken but any faster would be moving from the boundaries of skill and more into luck. Jack had managed to complete the entire tournament with an average of just three turns per Duel. "There was some concern when your fifth opponent chained two Discord's in a row but you got around that with Strong Wind Dragon." As usual, his overwhelming power attacks had crushed any hint of defence without mercy.

For an hour, they slowly meandered across the floor in careful examination of pictures that had been captured in recent years. Jack was prominent but hardly the only member of his family present. Several pictures had captured images of Crow with his team taking part in multiple tournaments. A couple showed Yusei during his infrequent charity Duels or fulfilling an age-old obligation towards Kame Game. There were even a few of Leo that had been incorporated into a montage of lower ranking Duellists. Through it all, Jack managed not to blow his own trumpet when the frequently came across a picture where he was the star. Instead, he tried to see things from a much different point of view.

"This colour scheme really compliments the architecture." Two of the phrases he used in that sentence were only partially known to him as his brain mumbled _Architecture = buildings, colour scheme = different colours (?)_. Which was more or less the extent of his understanding of the topics. He could appreciate both but the actual terminology was a pair of foreign languages. "Sepia filter?"

"Close. Yellow tone." Some photographers preferred to operate in a particular colour where they could. It often produced patterns that were otherwise unnoticeable, a different view on the subject and a lot of negative feedback. Moving onto the next piece of art forced him to really up his game.

"This one's not as good." Dredging up every single iota of his knowledge into the subject, Jack carefully tested the sentence out in his head. Since it made no real sense, he tried it out aloud. "Although the monochromatic view accentuates the monster designs, the lack of colour contrast blurs the distinction between areas." A decent artistic view from an art enthusiast, it was mostly down to luck that Jack managed to put the words in the right order.

"Good use of Dust Lord Ash Gash." Following his slow meander across the hallway to look at the next exhibit, she didn't even need to check the information to know what had happened. Being a full-time reporter hadn't stopped her from being a full-time Jack Atlas fanatic. "Nobody expected you to use it like that."

"What?" Swinging them around, he checked the photograph again. "No, Twin-Sword Marauder." Quantum physics buckled under the strain of his face trying to resort into a scowl as his mind forced it to remain in place. Scowling wasn't allowed on a date except under specific circumstances. "Russian Championship, four years ago. They _don't_ like me for winning that one." Defeating the national champion in six moves still earned him free luggage examinations every time that he passed through the country. A lot of Russians had mixed feelings him. Well, they _had_ had mixed feelings. Now that he was no longer World Champion, he was just the foreigner who had beaten their national icon.

"Huh. That's weird." Two-thirds of the picture was still the same but she could have sworn that the monster had completely changed in the time it took to get halfway to the next photograph. "Maybe I need a drink." Too late did she realise the grave error.

"There's a coffee shop two floors up." Neither science nor religion could explain his ability to locate the nearest caffeine source. Carly was sure that he hadn't read any of the signs around the building and she was holding their only map. How did he manage to do it?

"Let's finish looking at the rest of the exhibition first." Dragging him over to the next picture, she cast a look at the disturbing image they were leaving behind. She had avidly watched every single Duel that Jack had performed and knew his Deck intimately. It was impossible that she could have misidentified any of his monsters.

They might have a casual relationship which only extended as far as a couple of visits each year and Carly couldn't even fool herself into believing that it was monogamous but Jack was committed to it. He was actively making an effort to try and understand her world. A lot of men she knew in other relationships didn't even make that level of effort. Maybe it wouldn't last forever but she was happy for now.

* * *

After a playful race through the streets of New Domino, Crow had lead them to a small parking area near the mountain pass. It had good views of the city but was so overpriced that people rarely stopped there for long in case a warden came by to ask for tickets.

Leaning against the side of her Duel Runner, Musume ignored the view as she tried to figure out what her mystery benefactor could want. They had sent her a custom model that outstripped everything else she had ever seen – in her old past or new present – a phone with the sorts of tricks that she had only dreamed about (even with the majority of the functions locked out of her reach) and asked nothing in return. In her experience, everyone was always playing an angle. She just couldn't figure out what this one was.

"You know what really gets me?" Staring down at that symbol still stirred a lot of anger in her but the repetition – and having thrown it at the wall once already – had dulled that reaction to a dull flicker. "It's the old picture."

"What do you mean?" Wordlessly passing over the phone cut through a lot of tedious explanations. "You're right. It doesn't have Leo's bit." Squinting slightly in case he was being dumb, he couldn't identify any hint of the Heart symbol. "Whatever happened to it?" Since her brutal transformation in Paris, the only lines they had seen was on her hands and across her face. The individual Marks – or even their combined form – had simply vanished from sight.

"Crow?" She refused to believe that any route he could take in life would render him vastly different from the man that had raised her. At least some intelligence had to lurk behind that headband. "I'm not taking off my shirt again." The first time had been more than enough but she had to establish the truth in a hurry. There would not be a second if she could help it.

"Oh. So it's...?" Waving his hands vaguely over his own chest drew a filthy look. "Right." He was able to understand the lines a bit better now. The Head was tattooed across the right of her face, a Claw was layered over her hand and the Heart – judging by her threatening tone – was in a place that she wouldn't be showing him any time soon. Then an idea sprang into his mind. There were a couple of places that human physiology didn't mesh with the creatures inside her.

"Think it through." Knowing the way that his mind worked, she headed off the question that would put him at risk of patricide as he opened his mouth. "And don't say anything." Although they lacked a perfect facsimile, the remaining parts had found close enough approximations to get by. She would also not be showing their exact locations.

"Yeah, weird that it's the old picture." Handing the phone back, he pretended the last few minutes hadn't happened. "Maybe they just didn't get the memo." Leo had been a proper Signer for about five minutes. It was no wonder that he had been overlooked. "Could be that they just don't know about his Mark."

"Carly managed to get half the story with photos from the internet and a fat nerd." And that was before she had realised just how good she was at unravelling deception. The Carly currently on a date with Jack might have been able to get the whole scoop before the morning edition was printed. "You lot weren't exactly subtle. What did you say?" There had been a cough which sounded uncannily like 'wings' but that might have been the line that ran across her ear. Luck stepped in before she could find threaten him into revealing which it was.

A quiet buzz distracted her from revenge. It took a minute to realise that it was coming from her. Opening her hand, she looked down to find a single notification waiting on the unreflective screen.

"Who even has that number?" If it was safe to spread around, they would have just had a normal phone call instead of Akiza's number being constantly parroted back at them during the trial. "Well, go on." Shuffling slightly closer to overhear any conversation, he waited impatiently. "Answer it." Throwing him a chilly look as reminder that he was still in trouble, she thumbed the screen into life.

It was one of the few programs that she could access. An encrypted messaging program which wiped itself after every use. All the previous contacts had been redacted and she had decided against trying to fish for information. It was clear that they were too exposed already and she didn't want to let the smell of easy prey enter the waters. There was also the danger that she might make contact with someone that Para5yte had pissed off.

 _Guess who:)_ Although the names were blank, a few had icons attached. The one currently showing at the top of her screen looked like a fluffy gold cloud.

"What should I say?" She had never been that good at texting. Either people spoke to her in person or they wondered why fifty messages failed to be read. She was usually too busy to sit down and waste time on meaningless chatter.

"I don't know." Staring down at the screen, they collectively had little idea of what to do next. "They're using text speak. Trying writing 'sup' and adding a smiley face." Never in the redacted history of subterfuge had anyone recorded the use of saying 'smiley face' and it reflected in her face. "What? Do you have a better idea?" Unable to think of one, she followed his suggestion.

" _Sup :)_ " Surveying their work for a moment, Musume sent the message with a tight knot of trepidation curling in her stomach. An honest Duel would have been easier to handle instead of trying to guess how to respond to a sudden voice on a phone that wasn't really hers.

There was a pause before a fresh message scrolled across the screen in colder tones than before. _Tell me who uR. U wont like if I hv to find out MY way._ Musume hurried out a reply as she tried not to let the deception slip.

" _Wht U mean?_ " It was another risky move that failed to pay off as three little dots bounced menacingly to indicate impending doom.

 _The owner of this phone doesn't use shorthand. Or emoticons._ Every guess Musume had taken recently was turning sour. She had assumed that Parasyte used shorthand because this person was using it. _Give me a name or I'll tear your world apart._ Whoever was on the other end of the message chain was either bluffing or skipping straight to the serious threats. Since lying wasn't getting her anywhere, Musume opted for the less reliable option of telling the truth.

" _Musume._ " There was a much longer pause this time. Watching those dots jump again almost stopped Crow's heart under the strain.

 _Para5yte said you might be in touch. Where are they?_ Letting out a combined sigh of relief – mixed with a touch of confusion that they were once again being helped by someone they didn't know – the pair continued to apply as little information as possible while staying within the boundaries of the truth.

" _Not sure. They sent the phone and that's it._ " Another little bleep from the phone as the cursor flashed.

 _Well, Para5yte told me you could use their credit._ Like that meant something.

"Ask them what they mean." Hovering at one shoulder, Crow was voicing her thoughts as they went through Musume's head. Something she did not appreciate.

" _What credit? Who are you?_ " It is difficult to truly express laughter through text but the mystery sender tried anyway.

 _Phahahaha. That's so easy I'll not even charge you. Name's Arg0nought._ Insulting and helpful. A bad combination to be around Musume. _Best info-broker money can buy. You need any sort of information and I'll sell it to you. Finding stuff costs extra._ Meaning that they could get second-hand info easily enough. And Musume knew exactly what to ask for first.

" _Can you tell me what you've been telling Para5yte?_ " If she had been tapped into the credit of the former owner of her phone, maybe she was also allowed access to any information that they had. It would certainly give a good understanding of the sort of mind that they were dealing with.

 _They said to tell you that everything's on the phone._ Probably behind that mocking insignia that kept them from accessing parts of the storage. _'Show it proof.' That's a direct quote. Para5yte's a bit weird sometimes._

"Yeah, no kidding." She didn't send that one. Their mystery helper had performed a few fairly strange antics since making themselves known. And those were just the ones that they knew about. "What does 'show it proof' mean? Can you _not_ make that noise?" Crow had let loose a small squeal at the question. "Ever again."

"Hang on." Sliding across to his own Duel Runner, he fetched his Deck from where it sat before leaning back beside her. "Where is it, where is it..." Shuffling through the thin layer of cards, he plucked out the only one that was unique to his Deck. "Here." Tucking away the rest, he held out the Black-Winged Dragon. "It wants proof, right? Well, the best proof that it's with us is our dragons. Take a picture of it." Looking down at the card then up at the man who had raised her, she tried not to let the surprise show on her face. Maybe the cruellest part of his life was the term 'in his own way'. As in, 'Yusei may be smart but so is Crow, in his own way' or 'Jack is talent but Crow is as well, in his own way'. He tended to get sidelined a lot by circumstance of being their brother.

"Good plan." Laying the card flat on his Duel Runner, she pulled up one of the locked files again. "How did you know this would work?" Hovering the phone over his card, she tried for a smile.

"Well, you could fake everything else." Due to being public figures, his brothers endured no end of copyright infringement. Crow made sure to include at least one item based upon either of his brother's image that would never gain them any profit every birthday. "This is the best way of proving who we are." It was a lucky hunch. Slowly glowing brighter than the rest of the symbol, the Tail Mark was illuminated on the screen. "Do you think that it's a lucky guess or does Parasyte know which ones we used to have?" The more that they uncovered about their ephemeral ally, the more questions they had.

"I don't know." While her family were prepared to wait and ask more questions, Musume was the sort of lady that wanted them over with right away. "Hang on." Holding the literal answer to all their problems in her hands, she had a stroke of simple brilliance that illuminated a clear path to answers. "Why don't we just _ask_ who Parasyte is?"

"What makes you think that they know?" Despite recognising the simple ingenuity of her plan, Crow held a few doubts. If Parasyte had kept them at a distance under the sort of situations that they had already helped with, they were unlikely to have trusted their identity to yet another stranger.

"Ah!" Holding up a triumphant finger, Musume had anticipated the question. "We can just have Argonought find out for us." And using the vast credit pool that Para5yte had already built up themselves. It was so ironic that it was almost poetic. " _Can I ask you about someone?_ " Mumbling the question aloud, she was testing the waters to see if they could focus on one person before narrowing down the search.

 _Is it related to Yliaster? Because that stuff costs extra._ Musume's breath caught in her throat. Reading the screen beside her, Crow was torn between his need to point out being right and his uncertainty over yet another new player in the sprawling web that was his life. It was like the creepy criminal version of 'friend of a friend'.

" _How do you know that name?_ " It didn't matter that the phone was apparently tougher than a wall. She could simply fly it out to the ocean and drop it to the seabed. Yliaster wouldn't be able to track them from there.

 _Para5yte put me onto their tracks but I've been digging stuff up all over. Last chatter I heard was about something going down in Paris a couple of weeks ago._ So they knew about Musume's unpleasant experience, if not in detail. _Para5yte always gives me info to build her credit. They paid for top-shelf stuff and I tried to deliver._ It was not an unheard-of tactic but there was a unique opportunity for additional danger. Para5yte knew about the Signers.

" _What sort of information did they give you?_ " More people knowing about Yliaster wasn't the problem. It might actually help if they were more heavily scrutinised. If word got out about a loosely affiliated group of supernatural Duellists, there was no telling what sorts of crazy could come crawling out of the woodwork. People already wanted hero-worshipped Jack and were trying to actually worship Yusei for his hand in raising Abi.

 _;)_ In all of symbology, little is more ironic than the wink-smiley. It meant the person sending it was smiling at something that would not make the other person smile. _Para5yte had an inside line on a lot of things. Gave me tips that paid off handsomely._ There was another little jump of the ellipsis as another sentence bounced around the world in a way that nobody could trace. _Gotta run for now but call me if you need anything._

"Wait!" But Arg0nought had already signed off.

"Shit." Beside him, Musume echoed the sentiment in an unfamiliar tongue. "What is going on these days?" Peeling his headband from a stressed perch, he rubbed his head until the pounding slowed down slightly. "Someone else knowing about Yliaster was weird enough but now they're handing out the information like drinks at a party."

"How trustworthy are info-brokers?" While he was worried about the fallout of more people knowing about Yliaster and getting hurt, she was more concerned about her family being exposed.

"Depends on the price." One of the 'a guy I know' people who had lived in the Satellite had given Crow any number of tips on avoiding Sector Security over the years. Half the time, he had turned right around and sold the information to Sector Security for a price. Which in turn lead to being able to tell Crow about an impending raid on his latest hideaway. Even though the information sold for peanuts, he made a small fortune out of the gambit of playing both sides. "If Argonought is expensive, they're safe." More money brought more security.

"They'd better be _really_ expensive." Musume wasn't the sort of person who believed in things she couldn't see. Cynicism lurked even deeper in her soul than the spirits that were tattooed across her skin. Para5yte – who they had never met – had shared the secret of Yliaster with another third-party – who they also hadn't met – and knew enough about the Signers to mock them with their own insignia to lock the phone. "Come on." Sliding the phone into a pocket, she pressed her fist into Crow's shoulder. Actually punching him might accidentally break him in half. "One down, five to go."

"Or four." Sliding onto his own Runner, Crow smiled out beneath the gap in his helmet. "You're going to explain to Leo if he's not been included."

* * *

 ** _Apologies for the delay. My real-life balance is still adjusting and it's taking longer than I would like to get to work on chapters. Good thing that those reviews don't take more than a few minutes._**


	43. Party Boat

With only an hour left until he was expected to endure insufferable pleasantries without end, Yusei was facing down against his most hated rival – the bow tie. For a man capable of unravelling the secrets of the universe and constructing a Duel Runner from little more than discarded scrap, the exact methodology behind forming the perfect bow had eluded him for years. "Over, round, down, over." Carefully following precise instructions had somehow given him no clear advantage over the slim piece of fabric and he was currently trying to follow Crow's example as his brother tied it about his own knee. "See?" As the only one of the three brothers who had not been attended the social circles which required a bow tie, it was amazing that he was also the only one who could successfully create one. "It's not that hard." Holding out the completed circle, he took Yusei's withering look in stride.

"I'll just go without it." Dressed in a suit so sharp that he could cut himself, Yusei felt distinctly uncomfortable. It had been the result of a psychological experiment from one of the crazier collusions at the SRC to make the perfect formal outfit. As a staunch disbeliever, he had been given the honour of being their test subject. Never again would he doubt the power of a professional tailor with a team of psychologists backing them up. Fiddling with his top button, he cut a carefree air. "How do I look?" Realising that both of his brothers were suddenly slack-jawed, Yusei felt a slight tingle on the back of his neck. It reminded him of the one time that he had accused Din of making a mistake and turned around to see him sharpening a chair leg into a shiv.

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" Standing on the middling landing between the two floors was the single most enchanting sight that he had ever seen. Working with Misty might have just been a means to humanitarian ends for Luna but she made sure that her skill at those means was unshakeable and two hours of fibre-precise adjustments had produced work that would have fetched high enough prices to bankrupt her student-loan-encumbered friend.

Scarlet hair had been parted on the right of her forehead, curving delicately around the nape of Akiza's neck and cascading gently over her left shoulder. A backless silk dress hugged every curve of her body, crafted from a colour of such intensity that it matched the nearly alive hair that swung over the top of her bodice. Gracing either ear was an expensive ruby earring on loan from her mother which had been a gift from Hideo to celebrate their engagement. Delicately strapped high-heels peeked out from beneath the perfectly hanging hem, just about able to be glimpsed through the cut that led almost to a hip. Of course, the only way to see the shoes through that gap was if you weren't distracted by the slip of creamy thigh that lay beneath or the daringly cut neckline which was already on view. And that was only visible if it was possible to evade the smouldering gaze from a face which had been so delicately touched up that it was impossible to tell with the cumulative effect of her appearance shattering even the best minds of her generation.

"Um... uh... er" Finally able to loosen the collar about his neck, Yusei couldn't pretend that it was inhibiting his ability to speak properly.

"What my brother is so ineloquently trying to put together." Smoothly sliding into the conversation with the undetectable brotherly smugness that would come back to haunt Yusei later, Jack interpreted the various noises into a more coherent form of language. By lucky virtue of not being her target, he was able to overcome the peripheral effects by adapting his anger therapy to the surprising new circumstances. "Is that you look positively resplendent and it would be his honour to take you out for a relaxing evening about the town. Perhaps you would be so graceful as to let him escort you to an event reserved for the upper echelons of society?" Anticipating the one day regained the ability to speak for himself, Yusei made a mental note to thank his brother for covering the sudden absence of his intellect. "There is the possibility of dancing, probability of meaningful encounters and certainty that it will be an evening to remember." Unless Jack had suddenly become a prophet for five minutes, he had no idea just how right his words would be.

"Really?" Delicately gliding down the stairs with the sort of grace that came from being able to perform brain surgery and riding a Duel Runner at speeds that would make most people giddy, Akiza displayed no outward signs that she was secretly delighting in Yusei's dumbfounded expression. "All of that?"

"There may be some minor embellishment." Noticing how his brother was still not moving, Crow gave him a subtle poke in the back. Although Jack had managed to overcome the effects of Akiza's presence with mental exercises he had been taught, Crow had slowly regained his senses all by himself. "But I think he probably got the broad strokes right. _Right_ , Yusei?" Finally starting to bring his vocal cords back under control, Yusei nodded to indicate that he agreed with his usually less delicate brother's translation.

"Yarh, I mean, yes." Fluent in many languages and passable in many more, his native tongue was failing Yusei that evening. Every situation – from trading scathing insults with Din to discussing complex legal agreements with Kamikawa to the wild and varied conversations with his brothers – had utterly failed to prepare Yusei for the raw beauty descending towards him.

"That hair will never do." Akiza had spent enough time with raised hands fixing her own hair that fingers had lost feeling several times. By contrast, Yusei had showered. Due to the importance of the event, he had even used some conditioner. "Come here." Pulling his head down slightly, she carefully ran her hands over his hair. Combing it together, she gently slipped an elastic hairband around the stripes of colour. "How's that?" With her arms ensnaring his head, there was no way for Akiza to miss the look of minor betrayal. Or for Yusei to miss how they were pressed together in distinctly arousing ways.

"Why were you going to bring elastic hairbands if you're wearing your hair down?" Remembering that they were not alone, the pair separated as Crow's thoughtless question ruined the moment. A vengeful part of Yusei's mind that he didn't even know existed started planning how to ruing his brother.

"Because I knew that he would try anything to get out of this." Giving a stern glare at her escort for the evening – which he deflected by examining the dust gathering on the ceiling beams – Akiza noticed another subtle attempt to evade the events of the evening. "And where's your mask?" Being a masked ball, there was no way that they would be let in with open faces. Ironically, it was usually the other way around.

"Remember how you told me to go and find one?" While Martha had been able to force Yusei into a suit by telling his brothers to make it so, she had neglected to mention the mask. "Well, I didn't. So there." If Akiza didn't know how much Yusei cared about Abi, she would have begun to suspect that the trial had been concocted purely to avoid attending the ball. If her appearance hadn't been so enchanting, he would have been able to come up with a convincing excuse.

"That's okay." Beckoning to Jack, she wielded absolute authority in the room. Her two newest subordinates were trying to work off a lot of wrath from their prank with the water. "Jack got you one." A look can say many things. 'I love you' is a popular look. So is 'I loathe you'. In extremely precise circumstances, a look can even mean 'whatever you do, don't cut the red wire or we'll all be smears on the wall'. The one that Yusei was sending his brother roughly translated into 'traitor' and the look he received in reply was 'right now, she's more scary than you'.

"Trudge." Feeling increasingly like he was under arrest again, Yusei lunged for the single avenue of escape that still existed. "I didn't tell Trudge. And I can't go unless he's informed in _advance_." It was the last line of defence that he had left. One step out of the square and he would be in violation of his house arrest, the ICC would have him spirited away to a secret prison in minutes and there would certainly be no ball.

"That's okay." As if on cue, a horn honked just outside Poppo Time. "Lazar asked him to chaperone for the evening. He'll drop us off and pick us up at the end." Considering that Yusei had managed to evade and outwit Yliaster several times over the past few months, it could be forgiven that he had forgotten they were only the second most manipulative force in his life. First place went to his peculiar mismatched family.

"Fine." Reaching into the paper bag Jack was holding out, Yusei pulled out his mask for the evening. "Seriously?" Waving the disguise about, he was tempted to ram it straight into Jack's face. "This was the best you could come up with? What happened to anonymity?"

"Hey," Shrugging off the issue with the same game face that hid a victory grin, Jack pretended not to recognise the problem. "You were told to get a mask and didn't so the job went to me." What was in danger of being used as an instrument of murder was a midnight-blue mask speckled with silver stars, delicately curved into a crescent moon that would rest over his cheekbones. At least Yliaster would just kill him outright rather than by inches.

"Well," Hooking the mask over his ears with a scowl set into the empty space around his mouth, Yusei cut a dashing figure. "How do I look?"

"Like an idiot." Jack replied. Martha had raised them to be honest with each other and they would follow that rule whenever there was the opportunity to have fun with the truth.

"A _speckled_ idiot." Was Crow's helpful addition. Like Jack, he was feeling the moral obligation to tell the truth. More so if he could get away with it before the mesmerised brain could start functioning once more.

"You look fine." At least Akiza was able to go incognito with a laced rose design blooming up her nose to flower on her forehead with the vines spiralling out around her eyes and across her cheeks. "Come on," Holding out her hand impatiently, she waited for Yusei to take it in one of his own. "Don't wait up." Practically dragging him up the ramp, she waved his brothers into silent submission with one graceful arm. A silent plea for help went unspoken as the corner of his eye caught the enchanting sight that preceded him up the ramp. Biology trumped neurology and crushed his outright displeasure at being forced into a social event full of people who probably hated him with the sight of Akiza's perfectly curved rear.

"Do you think it's too late to get a hotel room?" Watching their brother's enchanted gaze get drawn up the stairs, Crow had an idea of the sort of events that would be happening later on. Just many years faster than they had for him.

"For who?" Noting how the door wasn't even closed properly as Yusei's brain continued to fail at the most basic level, Jack had a much better understanding than Crow. Being reigning World Champion – until Yusei had returned to active duty – had been a powerful aphrodisiac. "Us or them?" Professional witches couldn't have cackled as had as Crow as he realised exactly what Jack was subtly implying. Exactly if the departed pair would be hooking up for an exciting tryst in a fancy hotel or a romantic evening together at home.

"Trudge." Waiting with an open door to a plain car, the chaperone had been decided to wear a smart blazer over his casual shirt. A very smart social decision that Mina had supported right from the moment that she had pulled it out of the closet for him. "Nice of you to do this."

"You look wonderful." Years of stern tutoring under the control of his partner – both in work and life – had embedded a list of phrases for all circumstances. Those instincts that had been implanted in advance saved his hide from the cataclysmic effects of Akiza's appearance. "You're a lucky man." Speaking in an almost robotic monotone, he noted Yusei's mildly dazed appearance and wondered just how his own brain was functioning when the smartest man he had ever met wasn't even able to speak. Only when the door actually closed on Akiza did the spell break.

"Wha..." Coming back to his senses, he checked his surroundings and tried to account for the last thirty seconds. "Trudge?" Images other than the taut sight of Akiza's behind managed to force themselves to the fore of his mind. "I think I'm in trouble."

Laughing as his friend walked around the back of the vehicle – only bumping into both ends of the trunk as he tried to shake free from the vestiges of his mental cobwebs – Trudge held off from opening the door. "You have no idea." While the younger man could talk his old friend under the table on almost every other subject under (and including) the sun, greater experience meant that Trudge could see just how dangerous the determined young lady was.

* * *

Conversation was sparse on the journey. Trudge was focussing more on the drive, Akiza was relaxing in the knowledge that she was the reason Yusei couldn't speak and the aforementioned mute stuttered to a halt before he could begin every time that he looked across the seat. Twenty minutes of precise driving later, they pulled to a graceless halt outside of a swanky hotel a stone's throw from a shore edge.

"Okay, you kids have fun." If there weren't enough official perks to his job, Trudge was satisfied by the sheer outrage set into Yusei's scowl as he looked over at the posh entrance. "Don't do anything that I wouldn't do and I'll pick you up when the boat gets back."

"Back? Boat?" Then he saw the magnificent cruise ship docked on the far side of the road from the hotel. Several ramps lead to the deck with an array of black masks checking invitations of the crowds slowly filtering up to attend. A few grey masks were observing the funnelling process as it happened. Once everyone was aboard, it would pull off for the perfect sense of privacy and there would be no escape. "Trudge?" Tugging on the suddenly unresponsive handle, he pounded on the window with his spare hand as the car started to pull away from the curb. "Trudge? Trudge, TrudgeTrudge!" Running after the car even a few steps was difficult in dress shoes and he was forced to give up the chase as instinct screamed of the smile that was growing behind him. "You knew about this." Turning around wasn't an option with the mere sight of Akiza striking him silent.

"Of course." By the time he realised that his sense of smell could just as easily be manipulated, an impossibly alluring scent wafted over him as she snuck up behind him and slid her right arm around his left. "Did you make sure to bring the invitation?" Trying to lie to a psychologist was difficult yet not impossible. But trying to throw every excuse under the sun to say that he wasn't going to attend the ball only to have the embossed card tucked firmly in his pocket betrayed his lack of resistance. And – by the way that he couldn't deny the question – Akiza knew it. "This is going to be _fun_." No sooner had the words left her mouth than Yusei felt a twinge of instinct.

"Wait." Standing on the pavement outside a fancy hotel, he felt like an uncomfortable prickle growing in his back. "Something's off." Not feeling the same sensation, Akiza just looked about as they tried to locate the cause. Unlike the tingle that had pricked his neck in Poppo Time, this came from a less friendly source.

Spotting the culprit at the same time, Yusei's mouth suddenly ran dry. If the ball hadn't been enough reason to consider fleeing, the mere sight of them filled the gauge the rest of the way. "Took you long enough to get here." Waiting for them on the side of the far road was an unmistakable figure, no matter how differently they were disguised that evening.

"Musume." Disengaging his arms from Akiza's in case the waiting party tore it off, they both crossed the road to where she stood.

"How did you know it was us?" Even though Akiza was a wonderfully dressed rose in a garden of incomparable flowers, Yusei was dressed almost identically to every other man at the party. With their masks on, they should have been invisible to everyone else.

"The shouting helped." Admittedly, screaming after his departing driver had been a major clue. "And the car." Opening his mouth to tell her that Trudge's undercover car had been as surreptitious as any other at the event, Yusei noticed a slight flashing in the corner of one eye. Caught behind a trail of cars, the impatient cop had opted to flash his lights in order to secure a faster return to his partner back home.

"Well," Trying to defuse the situation, Akiza focused on the positives. "You look nice."

Musume was looking regally resplendent in a white kimono that slowly slipped towards a gentle rose pink the around the hems and edges. An intricately carved dragon mask was a bit on the nose and so ornate that Yusei was partially worried that maybe she had stolen it from a museum. There was the faintest whiff of perfume that had definitely not been present before. Akiza might have admitted her daughter was beautiful if it hadn't been for that air that she wanted to rip apart the world.

"I. Hate. This." Speaking through gritted teeth behind that mask gave a strange echo to the words.

"Then why did you come?" As the words exited her mouth, Akiza realised that the dragon mask was tiled more in her direction than Yusei's. Of course, her daughter from another life had come to make sure that she was alright. Before this could actually be articulated, another voice approached the conversation.

" _You're_ here. Wonderful." Note that the tone actually had a sense of anger. Consider if that qualifies as sarcasm or irony. Wonder if calling the police would be amiss. Realise that it would mean alerting Yliaster. Reconsider slightly. Turn around and be thankful the mask meant you didn't have to pretend to look happy. Reconsider calling the police anyway.

"Obake." In the time it took Yusei to process potentially selling out the man whose life he may have sacrificed, Akiza came to the more reasonable choice of not letting pity overwhelm her. Unlike her partner, she had actually tried to get to know the Englishman and sympathised slightly. "What are you doing here?" Coated in an outfit so high-collared that it was practically from the Victorian era, Obake was dressed in a black tux that overlaid a crisp white dress shirt and buried hidden beneath a light overcoat. At his neck was a bowtie that seemed to have been tied slightly askew but was really a simple elastic fake. Even when sneaking into a party, Obake wasn't insane enough to put a noose around his own neck. Any hint of his features had been hidden behind a curved white mask that had been carefully stolen from a higher-end retail store for one evening of brief encounters.

"I have not been to a party in many years. Just for one night, I wanted a taste of _normal_." Several limos drove past in a coordinated movement as more celebrities and politicians arrived at the party. It was far from normal. "This is not something that I want to be ruined by your group and their rivalries." Straightening his tie, Obake tried to glare at the trio. It was difficult when they couldn't see his eyes behind the wide tinted lenses. The pale base and dark overlay made his head almost look like an oversized owl.

"What if I just ripped your arms off and dumped you in the water?" One of Crow's more vocal threats growing up with Jack had been to tear off one of his brother's arms and then beat him with it. Yusei shuddered to think of what sort of circumstances Musume had picked up the threat.

"That would be an interesting experience." Carefully bringing his left arm up and wrapping it under his right, a slim blade appeared in Obake's hand like magic. " _If_ you could get close enough to do it." In the chill winds by the sea, it was inevitable the only two uninvited people at the party who were the most likely to start a fight.

"How about we just take a minute to talk about this?" Stopping the battle before it could begin, Yusei risked stepping into the periphery of their sight. If either of his brothers had been present, one or both of them would have made a joke at a hate-hate relationship or the two younger people having a deadly crush. Obake was giving the strong impression that he didn't mind killing any of the people he held responsible for ruining his life and Musume was practically ready to go rip his head off with her bare hands in response to the blatant threat. Knives didn't even come into it for her. "Obake, what would it take to get Mu... my friend into the party?"

"I want paying." It was a fast answer and not at all what Obake really wanted but it was a greedy enough excuse to cover himself.

"How much?" Yusei's own earnings weren't large (an effort to make his station seem unappealing to anyone in it for themselves) yet he was willing to tighten his belt if it meant sneaking Musume aboard without bloodshed.

"Put me on payroll." It took the words a moment to sink in and Akiza was the first to react.

"Pardon?" Having met Obake prior to discovering his connection to Yliaster and riding with him in the expensive and luxurious Grayston truck during the Pegasus Trinidad, Akiza hadn't even thought about the problem of trying to remain anonymous and earn money at the same time. "What's he talking about?"

"It's complicated." Recollections of the past flooded Yusei's mind in a wave of guilt.

"It's not complicated at all." Similar memories entered Obake's. "When I first arrived at the SRC, Professor Fudo arranged a little hiding place in the utility tunnels." Personally fetching and relocating the necessary items, Yusei had converted one of the smaller storerooms into a tiny corner for Obake to live in and left him some spare clothes. A few meals were carried down each day when nobody would notice and Obake gradually began to recover from his ordeal. "Over time, he began to forget about me." It had been a simple enough slip at first. An unavoidable meeting that stretched on most of the day. Then a conference overseas that he had been volunteered for. A few times he had remembered to give Obake some money in advance but eventually, Yusei forgot about the man altogether as his condition worsened and the pale spectre began working around the SRC in such an innocuous fashion that few people even knew he existed. Spotting him in the dining hall eating one of Chris' meals had cemented the idea that Obake was coping in Yusei's mind and he had left the young man to his own devices ever since. Never did the issue of money cross his brain. "Did he tell you that all the work I did for the SRC was technically voluntary? I haven't been paid for any of it."

There wasn't room behind his mask to see Yusei's face but Akiza watched the tips of his ears gradually colour in shame. "Fine. I'll figure out some way to pay you once we're done here."

"Retroactively?" Without any distinct movement, that dull blade was gone from behind Obake's fingers.

"Don't push your luck." Even if Yusei could figure out some way to start paying Obake for the work he did around the SRC, it was impossible to move such a large amount without setting off alarms up and down the system. "Now that we've agreed," There was a surly grunt that Yusei pretended not to hear. "To get along." A louder grunt was more difficult to ignore but Yusei persevered. "Can you tell us how you planned on getting into the party?"

"Simple. All the attendants are scanning invites as guests show up." Lacking the common beeping noise – probably because it might offend some of the richer guests – the white masks at the launch ramp were professionally scanning the codes from the guests' phones and manually checking off printed white rectangles. "Which means they either have the entire database on each device (which would be stupid) or,"

"Or they're connecting to a local server to verify each invitation." Seeing the best answer going onwards, Musume was begrudgingly impressed. "And all the phones can check is for the right encryption key being sent back."

"Which could be harvested from the wireless transmissions whenever they check a new pass." Yusei wasn't criminally-minded so it took him a fraction longer to see the conclusion.

"But the server would notice a fake invitation unless the scanner was looped into another system first." And Akiza was fast enough to prove she was a genius in more fields than one. "Which wouldn't need to last long enough for more than a single check." Slightly deflated as his plan was quickly deconstructed by the others, Obake was still quick to regain his composure.

"It will take me a moment to amend the fake name." It had occurred to Obake that this could easily be some sort of sting or scam to have him imprisoned but he was beyond caring at that moment in time. Pulling a chunky tablet from his pocket, he briefly checked on the programs already running before adding just three words of text to his fake invitation to the event. "Congratulations, you are now Dominica Latella. Adopted by an American couple, we probably met because we have foreign names. Mine's Peter Salerno." It only took a moment for him to hash out a background and hash in an extra name to the completed program. "It might help ta ah-dopt ah fake axcent." Polite English had morphed into drawling Texan between the start and end of the sentence. Now in a group of four, the quartet approached the boat as fast as social convention allowed. None of them were particularly eager to stick together longer than was necessary.

* * *

Wireless devices connect to any correctly named access point with the strongest signal. If that access point just so happened to be a false copy of the network port which connected them to the server, it was no real loss. After all, the scanners would only respond to the correct encryption key being returned. So unless a figure had been lurking around without reason only to suddenly try and sneak in, there was no cause for concern. And since this doughy-owl mask had just shared a brief conversation with some late arrivals before joining up with them, he had clearly just been waiting on his partner.

One quiet beep later and Obake gallantly lead the way up the boarding ramp. Musume would refuse to turn her back on anyone she didn't trust. There was no way to suspect that they had entered the event under a fake invitation. Especially when all hidden eyes were turning towards the commotion that was occurring to the next pair of guests behind them.

"I'm sorry, this invitation isn't on the list." Thankful for a prepared line that fit the eventuality he was facing, the concierge was handing back the card with a noticeable shake. "I'll have to ask you to leave." Now, Yusei had been fully committed to avoiding the party at all costs right up until that moment when Akiza had struck him dumb with her radiance. Everything since then had been a rear-guard action to keep up a brave face and he would be damned if they were going to be turned away at the gate.

"Take a look at the name on the invitation." Slipping into the politically polite tone he kept for such occasions as when his internal voice whispered lines similar to 'How about I punch that smug smirk off that face', Yusei held out the card for another read. "Take a look at the reason this event is even being hosted." Printed in embossed lettering were the words 'We invite you to a cordial celebration of New Domino City's new King of Games' being literally held in the hand of the new King of Games staring on the invite. "And if you still have any problems," Lifting his mask to one side just long enough that the distinctive criminal mark beneath his eye could be seen, Yusei dropped his voice into less pleasant registers for the eight words every entry-level grunt instinctively feared. "I would like to speak to your manager."

Gratefully taking the offered exit with both hands, guests filtered off towards the other ramps as the concierge scurried off to one of the impassively watching grey masks that had already been looking over at the interruption in loading. Facial cues are only one way of determining ongoing events. From the way that the black-masked concierge leaned in, they were whispering to keep the news from spreading. And judging by the way that the grey mask twitched slightly, leaned to one side to look at them and instantly began hurrying over, Akiza could tell that they were nervous.

"Prof.. Doc... Mr Fudo!" Although he was now being spoken to by a managerial-level mask, that flustered effect he was having had spread upwards through the chain of command. With his personal wish to be titled 'Doctor' and the invitation addressed to 'Professor', upper management settled for using a more traditional form of address.

"Yusei will do fine." Seeing how the blank mask had struggled to pick a title, it was clear he was a tabloid reader who believed Yusei was to be stripped of his professional qualifications. Unlike proper reporters, tabloids rarely felt the need to uncover the truth when they could pretend denial of ludicrous claims was a cover-up. "We seem to be having some trouble with my invitation." Gripping card between thumb and finger, he held out the invitation for another scan.

"Ah," Withdrawing the card again, Yusei sensed trouble brewing beneath the surface tension of polite nonsense. "Considering recent events, we thought that you might perhaps be taking some time to yourself?" Translation: we heard you were in jail and cut you from the list.

"Considering recent events, I realised that my _open_ invitation to this party was just what I needed to get over those _baseless_ accusations." Reading between the lines to 'we cancelled your invite', Yusei responded with an equally powerful 'no RSVP, no cancelling and you wish I was in jail but here I am, talking to lucky old you'.

"Are we going to stand out here all night?" Lifting off her mask, Akiza dabbed away at an imaginary smear of mascara. Her makeup – like her dress – was absolutely perfect yet gave her an excuse to reveal her face.

"Just while we sort out this minor problem." Thinking nothing of the mask before, the faceless beauty Yusei had on his arm suddenly became a lot more important. "It shouldn't take too long." Following her cue perfectly, he played the part of gently suffering escort well enough.

"I'd hate to tell daddy this company couldn't even get a simple invitation right." Dropping her mask back down, she managed to keep the smile out of her voice. "He heard such _nice_ things from all his friends." Jots were joined. Yusei Fudo was here with Akiza Izinski. Akiza Izinski was the daughter of Senator Izinski. Senator Izinski was going to tell his friends how the company cancelled invitations without informing the guests. Friends who were as powerful as senators but could still be in the business sector. Which is where this unfortunate manager was working.

"Would you mind coming with me for a moment?" Hustling them away from the desk, the blank mask ushered them into a functional little temporary office nearby before leaving to make a panicked phone call.

Alone in the room, the pair burst out laughing as quietly as they could manage. "That was wicked." Trying to take control of his breathing Yusei actually had to put his hands on his knees. "Did you really just do that?" In the sparse area of a temporary office cabin, they struggled to recover their composure.

"Well," Using her mask to fan cooler air back onto her face, she just barely managed to keep from choking. "I'm sure _somebody_ he knows has been to one of these types of parties." So many layers were in the sentence that Yusei couldn't even pick between them as he burst out into fresh rounds of laughter.

Hearing footsteps approaching the door, Yusei and Akiza hid themselves behind their masks again and tried not to let out the giggles they held inside. As the door opened, it was clear that they had risen even higher up the food chain. The suit this woman was wearing was clearly several steps above the regular cut and she moved with an unconscious grace forged from hours of practice. Over her face was a mask of pure white, punctured by sapphire eyeholes.

"Dr Fudo." Unlike her predecessor, this one had clearly done her homework before entering the room. "I apologise for this mistake. It seems that somebody revoked your invitation during the events of your trial." Those authoritative tones lingered in the back of Akiza's mind. She knew that this woman had met them somewhere before. If only that mask wasn't in the way.

"Probably thinking I was unlikely to set the record straight in time." Even through it all, Yusei still held no ill-will to the people who had been hoping he would end up in jail. Everyone was entitled to their opinion, no matter how ridiculous.

"Be that as it may," Smoothly ducking the inference, she continued to control the situation. "As you made no move to cancel your invitation, I will consider it valid and hope you enjoy the rest of the party. As an apology, I will extend the invitation to include Dr Izinski." Between the various bouts of recent excitement - being arrested, thrown in jail, put on trial, seeing Akiza in that dress - Yusei had forgotten that his was the only name on the invitation. He could have used that to avoid coming to the stupid party. Turning around to open the door for them, the white mask paused with her hand on the knob. "I personally apologise for tonight's incident." Looking into the plain mask, Yusei tried to see the eyes behind it. "Please, enjoy the party." A slight tingle ran down his spine at the heartfelt confession.

"We look forward to it." Inclining his head, he took Akiza's arm again and gracefully swept up the ramp towards the bustling hub of the party.

"Was it just me or did she seem familiar?" A tiny sense of doubt marked her words. Without a face to put a name to, it was difficult to know if it was the same person.

"I didn't notice." There was only one option available when a female friend asked about another beautiful woman – deny everything. Just make sure not to do it too quickly on they catch on. Or too slowly because they'll notice the pause. Be prepared for instant failure.

"Uh-huh." A major problem with trying to lie to a woman is that they are usually smart enough to see the ruse. "Let's just try to enjoy the evening." Gripping the arm a bit tighter than was necessary, it was apparent that Yusei's enjoyment of the evening would be happening whether he wanted it or not. Just about everything was out of his control. "How about we start with a dance?" Although he may have been many things, careful planning had kept Yusei from ever having to become any sort of dancer. Any hope of escape was left back on the shore as the ramps were retracted and the boat began to edge away from the land.

* * *

In an empty corridor nearby, Yusei wasn't the only one finding events out of his control. Grabbing at the wall to steady itself, unsteady gasps filtered out through a gaping mouth as the figure struggled to draw in enough air. Every variable had been planned for, every eventuality considered. Even the two former Signers showing up had been taken into the planning, inevitably dragging Musume at their heels. Hubris had prevented the admission of a critical weakness slipping from control for even a few hours. Fumbling through several pockets, nimble hands were able to piece together a much-needed aid and apply it. Risking several seconds of deep breathing allowed an equilibrium to be restored. In, out, in, ooout. Order returned. Straightening up, gloved hands smoothed the outside suit down again. Not as expensive as many at the party but it was better to be discovered as a cheapskate rather than an unruly mess from stealing an expensive suit that didn't fit. Back in control, the figure quietly returned to the party as unnoticed as it ever was.

The main venue was a splendid spectacle. Fancy stage at one end for the band, lengthy bar along the inside wall and sweeping views of the departing city out of the floor-to-ceiling glass panes along the other, with impractically long curtains framing them at regular intervals. A sprawling rectangular pattern in the centre of the room marked out a place for couples to twirl and spin to the fancy music with chattering guests surrounding them on all sides.

Musume was not an easily spooked person. Standing alone in the middle of a masked crowd, she felt her stomach tighten from instinctive trepidation. She had tagged along to the crazy masked ball in the quite likely event that Yliaster targetted Yusei and her mother was swept up in the chaos. Being suddenly separated from them was causing her to feel no small amount of anxiety. They could be just about anywhere in the crowd, if not the ship.

Looking for a single face in a crowd is not as hard as most people believe. Get a decent vantage point, look for hair colour, distinctive clothing, facial features. Attempting to find two people in a crowd where more than half the people were wearing the same outfit, the rest were dressed in distractingly gorgeous designs and everyone had masks on was marginally more difficult.

Trying to force through the mess would draw more attention and actually slow her down. Luckily, there was an area with a good view of the crowds, plenty of space to move about in and barely scrutinised. All she needed was an accomplice. Scanning nearby clusters for a good match turned up an interesting result leaning the wall only a few feet away from a pair of doors, partially obscured by a drooping plant.

"Hey!" Putting on a deathly cheerful air, she reached through the leaves to grab one shoulder. "Fancy a dance?" As they stepped around the bending leaves to face her directly, Musume was glad the mask prevented any embarrassment from showing on her face.

It was an almost identical outfit. Black suit, sweeping coat and that distinctive high-collared neckline she had only seen one other person at the party wearing. "Sorry, I thought you were my date for the evening." Almost identical except that Obake had been wearing an eggshell coloured mask and this figure was wearing one so dark that it seemed flat from every angle. There was something else as well. So much of the body language in this figure was different that she couldn't really believe she had mistaken them for Obake even for a moment. They seemed... softer somehow. More fluid in each movement.

Staring at her with an amused air, the stranger carefully bowed as one hand raised in invitation. Maybe it wasn't the easily manipulatable fool that she had been looking for but one body was as good as another.

"Well. Thank you." Not many people at the party would have been willing to forgive such an intrusion yet this one seemed to take it in good spirits as they followed her out to the dance floor. Probably just a foreign visitor who had no idea what she was saying. Taking the hand, she dragged the bemused body out onto the dance floor. Setting one hand on a hovering touch by her hip, the impromptu dance partner cautiously followed Musume's lead as they moved in graceless patterns across the dance floor.

Now, Musume was many impressive things. Turbo Duellist, Signer, recently trained flyer. But one activity that she had never put any thought towards was dancing. Her lead bumped into other dancers, stumbled backwards and sideways. It was only in time to music insofar as there was music at the same time that she was dancing. In the space of a minute, she realised that the major flaw of her ingenious plan was the creator.

Deftly twisting both hands into a new posture, her formally submissive partner realigned their stance. Not enough to grip Musume's but simply held their own in place for her to lean on. "Hey, what are you doing?" A slight tilt of the head and the air of 'are you kidding?' made the hidden raised eyebrow unnecessary. To call their movements up until that moment without grace would have been an understatement. Shifting one leg to the outside, they waited for a heartbeat as Musume cautiously followed the lead. Step, step, step. Step, step-on-toes, stumble. Keeping both hands steady, it was impossible for Musume to actually fall as she clutched at that unyielding palm and lifted herself upright.

'Nothing to worry about. We can always try again.'

Not exactly words yet a clear meaning in the careful grip that squeezed hers for just a moment. Step, step, step. Step, step, stumble. Step, step, step. Step, step, step. In the space of a few movements, she found herself gliding gently across the floor. Clear and gentle circles that slowly revolved around and let her carefully scan the masks in the background. For just an instant as they gradually moved about the space, Musume had the most unusual sensation. Unless there was a better word for it, she might have called it enjoyable. Simply dancing in simple circles was providing her with a distinctive sense of simple joy. Then time moved onwards, reality returned and events continued to proceed.

Tapping her clasped hand with one finger, the figure slowed their spinning and jerked their head to indicate Musume stare straight over one shoulder. Tucked neatly against one wall was the lengthy bar. It appeared her impromptu partner was offering a drink. More importantly, dancing just behind them was the softly speaking pair that she had been looking for when they first moved out onto the dance floor.

"Maybe some other time." It was strange. For the brief time that they had been pressed together, Musume hadn't felt that presence of anger and hatred that had permeated her every inch since leaving Paris. Even that little voice that had been constantly whispering in her head had faded away in the gentle moves of the dance. "Thanks for the dance." Stepping away from the silent figure, she walked out to the periphery of the crowd again. Now that she knew where to look, it was possible to keep an eye on them from afar.

Stepping out into a corridor again, an uninvited guest carefully raised their right hand to examine the covering as the left moved to stow away some small items. Something was different about appendage inside. It... tingled? Carefully replacing a mask, gently dissipating thoughts almost scoffed at the idea. What sort of diagnosis could come from 'tingles'?

* * *

Against everything that he had done to avoid attending the party, Yusei was being forced to admit a dreadful truth. When his brothers found out, there would be severe blows dealt. "Admit it." Spelt across his chin in tiny little markers that a good psychologist could read from across a room, it was the one currently a few inches away that was the trouble. "You're having fun."

"If there's anything that being on trial has taught me," Reading cues for himself, the physicist was plotting the course that was being laid out for him. "It's to deny everything until your accuser has proof." Figuring out where her feet were about to move, he made sure to keep an inch ahead at all times. It was strangely difficult for a man who was used to reacting to speeding vehicles.

"Admit it." Adopting a little sing-song voice, she shifted ever-so-slightly closer to him as they moved through the steps. "You're hav-ing _fu~n_."

"Dr Izinski." Curving around another pair on the floor, a flash of white went unnoticed in the corner of his eye. "Are you _reading_ me?" In psychological terms 'reading' a person was taking all those tiny little facial ticks and body postures to get a glimpse at their inner-workings. With degrees in neurology, psychology and both a physical and mental insight into his mind, interpreting the subtle clues he was expressing was child's play to her. It was also not meant to

"What makes you think that I would need to?" With the ship already floating out into the open sea of New Domino Bay, there was no option of retreat. With his dwindling resistance, there was no option other than to accept his fate and make sure at least one of them had a nice evening. Yusei was not the sort of person who would disappoint his friends. "Admit it."

"Not without talking to my lawyer." He was also not the sort of person to give in easily. A minute passed while he considered the damage his reputation would suffer if word ever got back to the competition about what he was about to do. "But it's not as awful as I thought it would be." Looking at that smile almost blinded Yusei as he suffered another rare mental stutter.

Then Akiza said something that took him completely by surprise.

"Do you remember what we talked about the other night?" Lying with a covered face was incredibly easy. Any hints of deception were literally masked, there was nothing visible save the sights of his eyes. That would have been enough. But Yusei couldn't bring himself to lie. Not about anything that important. Not to her.

"... Every word." Nearly everything altogether. Right up until he walked into the bathroom. After that was blank. "I didn't expect to but I do." A quiet moment went past as he envisaged countless futures falling apart from the words.

"What are you going to do about it?" Of all the events that could have spiralled out of his confession, this was one that he hadn't been expecting. For a moment, he considered the idea that he was dead and rotting with his soul journeying to an undeserved paradise. Then she repeated the question. "Well? What are you going to do?"

Various emotions waged bloody war inside his heart. Fear, doubt, fear, worry, anxiety, fear again. Mostly fear. Swallowing the thick lump that had stuck in his throat, Yusei grabbed all the courage that he had. "Let me take you to dinner." It was a soft invitation. Clearly ready to be turned down.

"Do you happen to know somewhere that reporters can't go?" She was teasing. Not willing to lean one way or the other just then. "Because I'm kinda famous around town." Everyone with a camera would be pointing it at their faces for months to come. Privacy wouldn't exist for them.

"Okay. What about my place?" Even though this one was actually a question, it was in a more certain tone.

"Hmm." Musing over the thoughts for a couple more twirls, she tried to logically weigh her options. "Do you have any pets?" Logic couldn't quite keep up with the conversation and went off to sulk in the corner as Akiza dismissed it for failing to be of any use.

"What?" It was a teasing question. She was playing with him. "Yeah, a cat." Like the dismissed notion of logic, Yusei couldn't keep up with her mind. A rare feeling for him.

"Sorry, that's a deal-breaker." Titling her mask to one side, there was no disguising the laughter in her eyes. "What about my place?"

"Do you own a cat?" Carrying them across the floor, he turned the joke back on her. "Because that would be a deal-breaker."

"According to a friend of mine, nobody actually owns cats. But one lives with me." For a smart man, he hadn't seen the obvious trick she had been playing on him.

"Your friend sounds like an idiot." Another flash of amusement came from behind that tendril mask.

"Oh, maybe about a couple of things. A good cook though. I was thinking of having dinner with him." Newspapers would never hear about it but Yusei was increasingly finding himself outmatched when it came to Akiza.

"Really?" Carrying them backwards across the floor, he tried to keep his heart from pounding through his chest.

"Only if he can hold his nerve long enough to actually ask." Giving them one last swirl, he slowed them to a corner of the dance floor as other pairs continued to cross the space.

"Can I make dinner for you?" Even though they were no longer actively dancing, she remained comfortably nestled within the embrace of his arm. Those high heels were just high enough for her to look him straight in the eyes without having to stretch. All that he could see was the faint twinkle of laughter darting through the fine lines in her irises.

"Only if I don't get a better offer." Leaning up, she moved until her lips were just about to meet his. "Buy me a drink." Unlike his first offer of dinner, hers was an order that could not be ignored.

"I..." Mesmerised by the hazel orbs that controlled his fate, Yusei tried to recall just what was happening and where he was. "I thought it was a free bar?" The company behind the event had to be racking up a massive bill from the constant drinking by socialites with a taste for the finer stuff.

"Oh?" Moving even closer, he felt the pull of the planet was less than the invisible force keeping him tortuously separated from pressing his lips to hers. "Then I'm buying." Trying to recover from whatever magic she had been working on and off the whole evening was like having a stroke in reverse. "What's your poison?"

"Club soda." Having a few social drinks at events was nothing new to Yusei but he needed every brain cell to keep functioning at even a tenth of its usual levels around Akiza. At roughly the same time that he listened to the enchanting figure request a red wine down to the vintage – a talent that he had no inkling that she possessed – darker orders were taking place elsewhere on the ship.

* * *

Having conversations behind those masks was strange. Akiza was less famous than Yusei and he was able to evade detection by simply changing the pitch of his voice. "I don't quite understand all this computer stuff." With his companion leading conversations simply by saying 'what do you think about the trial', the accused was actually finding out what opinions people had actually made about him. "But thinking computers? Well, I doubt that anyone could make one really alive if they tried." While the simpering figure probably needed ten minutes to brew a cup of coffee, Yusei took it to mean that they doubted his crimes. Not exactly the best that he could hope for but at least it was one person who believed he was innocent.

"Blow that." Unfortunately, her ageing husband had a very different take. "Trash is trash. I say we send that scum back to where he came from and be done with him. I don't know what that ridiculous mayor was thinking, letting him get above his station." Rolling the stem of her wine glass between fingers, Akiza was grateful that it was empty because she might have otherwise thrown it in his face.

"I thought that his father lived in the Tops?" Peeking at the corner of her vision to check his face, she wondered if Yusei was intentionally trying to mock the socialite. It was the voice that he used when imitating Jack. A surprising number of events had been peaceably passed by with its use. "So wouldn't you say that he's right where he's meant to be?"

Before the aggressive mind could reply with anything that would end poorly for him, a minor stir at the stage holding the musicians drew everyone's attention. A bulky outline was indicating that they hold the delicate music for a few minutes while he addressed the crowd. When he turned around to display a buzz-cut, it was evident that this was a man who kept the idea of 'relaxing' in the same mental box as the idea for 'exercise'.

"Ladies and gentlemen." Tight didn't quite do the suit justice. Barely containing the muscles beneath, it was actually possible to see a white vest poking out between the gaps of the shirt. "I have been given the unfortunate duty of informing you all of a potential security risk." Fearful muttering quickly spread. "There is no need to panic. We have discovered some signs which could indicate a stowaway. Then again," A professional smile made headway across the scowling face. "We might just need to hire a new cleaning crew." The small joke alleviated the tension just enough for a few laughs to break out across the room. "The majority of my team are sweeping the ship as we speak. In order to be our most effective, we must ask you all to remain in the main room for the time being." Something wasn't right. Hairs prickling on the back of his neck were telling Yusei that it was probably time to run and hit anything standing in his way. A concerned glance told him that Akiza was feeling it as well.

"In the unlikely event that the intruder is working with somebody in this room, we have blocked communications both in and out." It all sounded perfectly reasonable to the politicians about the floor and tables. Yet something continued to nag at the only Duellists there. "Should any of you require to make use of the facilities, I have requested two of my best to escort you both to and from the toilets." It was difficult to place a finger on but there was definitely something amiss. A fraction of movement in his eye drew attention to Musume. If anybody else would see a storm coming, it would be their personal shadow.

Turning back to face Akiza, Yusei almost missed it. Almost everybody else would have. The few who did would probably have pushed it from their minds automatically. But there were perks to having the largest recorded intelligence ever. One of them was the ability to recognise the significance of the muddy outlines being left behind by the departing shoes. Carefully calling Musume over with a jerk of his head, Yusei leant down and whispered a single sentence to Akiza. By the time their companion arrived, she had paled a shade but managed to put a game face up behind her mask. "Muddy footprints."

As smart as she was, the small clue was enough for the thief to unravel the rest of the riddle. Aboard the ship, there was very little mud and dirt. Plenty of grime and muck but no actual soil. The only place to grow anything was in the plant pots spread artistically across the lower decks. As insubstantial as that was, any littered dirt would have been shoved overboard with the side of a shoe and the rest quickly spread about by the constant pacing of the security personnel.

The only possible way to get enough imprinted on a shoe to last was if you somehow stepped in a flower bed four feet in the air. Of course, seeing them from the far side of the railing was impossible. Any trespassers would easily step into one of the numerous pots. But nobody would be stupid enough to believe that anybody would attempt to steal onto a boat mid-voyage.

* * *

 ** _This was originally one massive chapter with the next one but also then I realised it was 16k words so yeah, two chapters. Also, two reviews?_**


	44. Sinking Ship

Locating Obake in the crowd had been tough but necessary. Unlike the rest of them, his first instinct had been to being planning a solitary escape before curtly joining the group. Standing at a drinking table in one corner, the only four people aware of the danger slowly passed Obake's tablet back and forth as they continued talking about some imaginary biology experiment. By openly making people aware of an intruder and giving them a guard, the public thought they were safe. Instead, they had handed over control to a group of strangers now holding them hostage. Even the catering staff for the event had been rounded up into the room under the pretence of 'eliminating possible cover'.

"No, you're getting the protein markers wrong again." With fewer qualifications than the others, Obake was playing the part of a fool. Yet in their _other_ conversation, he had considerable experience to prove his worth. "Look, this is how you do it." Taking the tablet from him, Yusei began scrawling out equations with his finger. "Am I right?" Akiza carefully examined the notes and made some amendments before passing them back to Obake.

"As always." Scribbled on the screen was a plan for a smash-and-grab takeover of the guards which Yusei had immediately put down as too dangerous. Musume made use of a provided stylus to alter a few choice components before revealing the latest iteration of the plan.

"How about my idea?" The red dragon mask hid most of her features but there was no way to mistake the bloodlust in her voice. Being kept in a cage was no way to pacify her. Maybe her anger was the reason that her plan included more severed limbs than any of the others.

"No." Wiping the sketch clean, a few careful strokes crafted a far less dangerous plan. "How about this?" It was far more likely to work yet there were some drawbacks. Quite painful ones, in fact. "But we'll need a volunteer." Even with their faces masked, it was impossible to miss how two sets of eyes turned to look at Musume.

Looking down at the drawing, Obake did somehow appear to miss it. "Your work appears solid. I think that I might make a viable donor." Finally raising his head, hidden eyes turned to face the redwood mask that was secretly relieved. "Providing you can guarantee all my teeth make it." Dark laughter came back in response.

With a confirmed plan in place, the group peeled away one at a time. Yusei slowly circled shifted through the crowds, settling into groups for brief intervals to avoid being noticed as heading in one particular direction. Musume split off next in order to vanish into the crowd. "I'm only doing this because it's the least-worst option." Sliding the small tablet into an inside pocket, he was last to step away from the table. Everyone leaving all at once or even gradually over the course of a few minutes might spark suspicion. A unanimous vote had agreed that Akiza was the least suited for various parts of the plan. Unanimous because being the subject generally excluded people from voting either way.

Noting the progress of his boss around the room, the doughy-owl waited until he was in roughly the right area before making a move of his own. Stepping towards his own target, he gently brushed past a figure in a shimmering white dress. "Having a nice time?" Putting on his sleaziest voice, both eardrums almost ruptured as the woman let out an ungodly shriek.

"What do you think that you're trying to pull?" A walrus on legs stampeded through the ground and grabbed him by the front of his suit. "That's my wife you're fondling!" Two trembling hands attempted to force open the grip on his suit as Obake paled beneath the mask. He had expected a reaction but not as severe as this.

"I'm so sorry, I thought she was my date for the evening. The dress is identical!" At just the right moment, Musume emerged from the crowd in her ivory robe to slap away the hands and throttle Obake herself.

"What do you think that you're doing?!" Stammering excuses that sounded almost vaguely coherent, a sizeable crowd was gathering to watch the commotion. "Touching other women again?" With that rather unpleasant declaration, the first punch was throw. Against the plan, this came from the husband but Musume quickly joined in the brawl. Various guards converged on them from all angles and allowed Yusei to slip quietly from the room through the unguarded doors.

* * *

It only occurred to Yusei when he was out of earshot of the fighting that he actually didn't know what he was looking for. There could be any number of reasons to take the event hostage. Political leverage, personal gain or even just the thrill. But taking them without alerting anyone eliminated the alertness which usually accompanied panic. So whatever they had planned necessitated no interference.

 _Okay, think it through._ Ducking down another corridor, he was eliminating the major rooms by order of which were unoccupied. So far, none of them had contained anyone with the exception of the captive main hall. _If we're being held hostage, they're not making it obvious. If they're demanding a ransom from anyone, it's being kept quiet._ Everyone at the party was extensively connected. If even one of their respective organisations was being held to ransom, the others would hear about it almost instantly. _So, not a standard hostage situation._ They could be directly contacting the government. Maybe Lazar was being pressured into agreeing to some demands, or maybe an even higher position in the government was being pressured. But that would still have set off some alarms they would have heard about.

Unless he was thinking too obvious. There were all sorts of different reasons they could be held hostage but only one reason why none of them would had heard about the capture – because they wouldn't be around afterwards.

What were the weakest points in the ship's design? Below the waterline but not near the reinforced exterior hull. Sliding down a steep set of emergency stairs, he passed from the fancy public parts of the ships and into the bare metal of the functional quarters. All of the probable targets were situated in the restricted portions of the ship. Normally, the crew would have been preventing him from accessing these areas. Another worrying indicator that their pleasure cruise had been hijacked. A grim thought arose in the back of his head: If the crew weren't present nor being held with the hostages, then where were they?

* * *

Two areas are most at risk on a boat: engines and storage. While fossil fuels could move a thousand miles and still be good for use at the other end, electricity is lost over long distances. So the engineers had decided to simply put them right next door to one another, separated by a thickly reinforced gap room between the two. That wouldn't have been safe if the fuel had been something instantly combustible but the ship operated on a series of solar-charged cells.

Not batteries in the sense that most people thought of, each compartment contained several thousand cells that would operate in tandem to achieve a much higher rate of efficiency. The design would theoretically stall and limit any ruptures into what is known as a runaway cascade failure – unstoppable but slow as the cells blew one after another. Theory said that the boat could safely journey for three hours with a cascading failure without any danger to the crew. Theory generally forgot to include external elements like an additional ignition that would reach all the cells at once. Instead of a slow burn, the result would tear the ship apart as the same measures designed to keep the water out would force the pressure of the explosion straight through the hull.

Of the many regrets Yusei would face in his life, he would never have imagined that not learning to defuse complex explosives would have been up there. But with an innocent little box of death ticking away in front of him, he desperately tried to think of anything that he could put to use. Electronics were supposedly universal but wiring a phone wrong was unlikely to destroy a boat and he was unwilling to take the risk. The obvious answer was just to throw the thing overboard and hope it was the only one.

That, of course, was not how events would transpire. Trying to move the device started a slow beeping. Returning it to the previous position cut off the noise. "Proximity alarm." Trying to pinpoint the exact moment his life had turned insane, Yusei decided not to bother attempting to find the source of the signal. It could be as small as a grain of rice and hidden practically anywhere. Probably tucked into a narrow crevice that nobody could fetch it from. Make sure that anyone who tried to be a hero would kill themselves along with the rest of the hostages. As an added bonus, it was also giving the impression that this had been a lone operator and mask whoever was currently in control of the boat.

Whoever had planted the bomb had positioned it right alongside the batteries. Carefully moving the explosive again, Yusei did his best to smother the sound with his overly expensive dinner jacket. There might not be much wiggle room but there was a hatch only a few feet away. If he could just get it over the lip of the door, it might reduce the explosion enough for the boat to remain afloat until help could arrive. If not, they would all be dead before they knew it. Even though the beeping possibly matched his heartbeat, the device didn't deploy as it tucked it out of the way. Making sure to tighten the door as much as he could, Yusei began running back through the boat towards the main hall as fast as the smooth undersides of his dress shoes could carry him.

* * *

Up in the main hall, events had managed to settle down. Musume and Obake had retreated to a window bench as the bruising walrus nursed an arm still sore from being temporarily dislocated. Despite the screams she had uttered at the ruse, his wife had had the audacity to slip Obake her number. Now and again, his companion would still offer a brief laugh at his discomfort while Akiza tended to the wounded left in her wake.

"How long do you think he will be gone?" As if his words carried some mystical power, Yusei burst in through the doors at that exact moment. There was just enough time before the wooden panels swung shut to recognise that the corridor behind him was completely empty. Watching him clamber onto the stage and order the musicians into silence, Obake slowly withdrew a pair of resealable bags from his pocket and carefully began encasing his tiny tablet inside one.

"Ladies and gentlemen." The arrival of a slightly underdressed and heavily out of breath person always drew a few concerned glances but they quickly dissolved into mindless gossip at the state of him. "Excuse me," What little attention he held dribbled away. With either a few minutes or hours on the timer and no way of knowing which, there wasn't really time to be polite about the entire affair. Pursing his lips, Yusei whistle reached pitches shrill enough to wake Jack from the deepest of caffeine withdrawals.

"What's the big idea?!" Another walrus clutched his head as waves of pain chased the alcohol through his skull.

"Please remain calm and make your way to the lifeboats." Instead of the scare he thought this would incur, laughter greeted his words. Losing patience, he cut straight to the chase. "Let me rephrase that: there's a bomb in the engine room that could go off at any second." Not to be deterred, Obake carefully enclosed the first bag in the second before gently securing it back in an inside pocket. "Think about it: when did you last see any of the crew?" True enough, all the guards had slowly drifted away and vanished to leave only the catering staff locked in the hall with their guests. As questions began babbling around the stage, Obake withdrew a lifejacket from inside the hollow bench and wrapped it tightly around himself.

"Would you mind stepping aside?" Unsure of exactly how to proceed, Musume took a couple of steps away as he grasped one of the droopy potted plants and threw it through the window. Shattering glass and a screaming jumper appeared to bring reality home to the crowd and they began to start paying attention.

"There are four emergency lifeboats on the main promenade. We could all fit inside one so we should focus our efforts on getting everybody safely down. The best-case scenario is that I'm wrong and we spend a few chilly hours talking." That future disappeared sharply as the explosive down in the hold went off. Despite the best efforts of Yusei, a major fire was starting down in the engine compartment. An overload in the electrical systems sparked across the ship and started dozens of small fires. It was somewhere between his hope for the damage to be minimal and the saboteurs attempt to destroy the boat in a single move.

"Run for your life!" At roughly the moment a mask screamed the hysteric line, Obake finally disengaged himself from the long curtains and drop the rest of the short journey. With everybody sprinting towards the doors, Musume was just about able to prevent Akiza from being trampled in the stampede as several smaller explosions sounded about the ship. Slipping from the stage, Yusei angled through the crowd to reach the two women just as all three were swept into one of the corridors.

"Musume, take Akiza to the Spirit World. Now!" Running scared was often considered a cowards tactic. When there was a bomb that could go off at any moment, running scared was the commonly accepted idea. With no way of knowing how little time they had left, he was going to take whatever measures were available to keep them safe.

"Don't you," Discarding his mask let Akiza see the seriousness in Yusei's gaze. If there had been clear access to the outside, he would have pushed for wings. In the cramped confines of the corridor, they would have to settle for the next best thing.

"On it." Whatever differences Musume had with him went out of the window as soon as Akiza was in danger. "Come on." Grabbing her mother by one arm, the face behind the bloody mask twisted in concentration. People continued to jostle them down the corridor as she kept them still in order to focus.

After a few minutes, even the only non-Psychic of the three could tell something was wrong. "Any time now." Transporting people across a dimensional gulf was probably not easy work yet Luna had never taken this long.

"It's... not... working." Trying to lift too much weight could tear muscles or break bones. Trying to do what Musume was doing was sending pain through parts of herself that she hadn't known existed. Blood started dripping out one ear as the pressure continued to build, staining the collar of her borrowed dress.

"Okay, Plan B. Head for the boats." Whatever difficulties she was having would have to wait for another time. "If things get worse, can you still pull out your wings?" Maybe one of those deadly burdens could still get the Izinski ladies out of danger.

"Boats are Plan B, wings are Plan W." Letting the changes come was a difficult prospect to face, of letting her own body be twisted away from her. Trying to return to a normal form again was a brutal and difficult process. Even though she had learned a measure of control over the transformations, Musume wasn't going to ask for 'help' unless it was absolutely vital.

"Do you _really_ have that many plans or do you make it up as you go along?" With smoke billowing from all over the ship and the crowd running wild as panic and terror set in, barely a handful of people were keeping their calm. Even so, the prospect that not one but two people cared about her enough to each have multiple plans was a wonderful distraction for Akiza to focus on. It diverted some attention away from the imminent disaster.

* * *

With fires raging everywhere, the crowd scattered as they attempted to navigate their ways to the main deck and comparable safety. Quickly forced apart from Akiza, Yusei was at least able to see Musume wrap one arm tightly around her shoulders before they were swept away. After being forced down several increasingly warm corridors, the crowd eventually managed to reach the deck and instantly began forcing one another aside in order to secure seats for themselves.

"Yusei!" Still concealed behind her mask, Musume almost carried Akiza to where Yusei was trying to organize some sort of order to the evacuation. "How's it going?" A few of the more experienced swimmers and desperate fools were imitating Obake and jumping straight into the water with life jackets. They seemed to be mostly unaware that night waters could be deadly freezing.

"Get aboard." In the journey to leave, it appeared that Akiza had dropped one of her mother's earrings and lost a shoe. Under normal circumstances, he would have stopped to help but time was critical.

Before they could, even more frightened screams came from the boats. Wading into the mess, Yusei only returned with worse news than their current situation. "Did you see anybody fall on your way here?" The only things either had seen on their scramble had been the heads before them and the feet beneath. It hadn't exactly been the time for sightseeing.

"How many people are missing?" With reactions and skills far beyond what most people could do, Musume performed a rough headcount and compared it with the crowd from earlier.

"Maybe a dozen." Even as the last group of people managed to squeeze themselves onto the boat, another handful stumbled from the smoke and gasped in the fresh air. With so many people still lost in the fire, Akiza knew what would happen before it did.

"Akiza, get on the boat. Musume, I want you to lower it into the water as soon as everybody is aboard. I'll get the rest out in one of the others." There wasn't any point in arguing. Musume had proven long ago that Akiza's continued well-being was incredibly important to her. Any attempt to put herself at risk would be dealt with swiftly. Clambering aboard, the good doctor silently fumed at the turn events had taken as she watched Musume slowly winch the boat and Yusei swing it out. When it was clear that it was ready for deployment, she lunged up to swing herself aboard and left him standing alone on the deck.

No sooner had it lurched out over the water that two other passengers stumbled out of the smoking tunnel that led back into the ship. Holding a hand against the side of the swinging lifeboat to balance herself, Musume could have sworn that a perfectly dark figure was calmly walking back through the billowing smoke as she dropped beneath the line of sight.

* * *

Black fog surrounded him on all sides as Yusei charged through the winding corridors of the ship. He had barely bothered checking to see if the two latest victims were still breathing before loading them into one of the remaining boats and heading back inside. If he spared even another minute to help one of them, it would spell death for another person inside. Back and forth he went, occasionally breaking windows to steal a breath of air before continuing. Fumes were slowly starting to seep into his lungs and make him dizzy. Now and again, he could have sworn that there was another figure gliding about the corridors, disappearing into rooms and returning from different ones.

 _Keep it together._ Even though he could probably guess, identify and then break down the various chemicals he might be breathing in, there was little he could do to stop their effects as he found and carried out the third and fourth victims. If Musume had been right – and Yusei had grown to trust her judgement – then he only had to find another eight or so people. But one wrong turn had him lose his way in the smoke. Before he knew what was happening, the precious oxygen in his lungs was gone and the wall was suddenly warm and fluffy. Pushing himself upright again, Yusei managed to stagger into the nearest room and gain a short reprieve from the toxic fumes.

Through the smoke and haze, he was just about able to make out the same dark figure he had glimpsed in America in the dust storm and at their celebrations. Held out in one hand was a damp pillowcase for him to tie about his face.

"There's still a few more people somewhere." Careful to leave some room for the cloth to move about, Yusei knotted it behind his head and instantly felt a drop in the toxicity of the air he was breathing. "You search the port side and I'll take starboard." Nodding once, the figure vanished again. Hoping that this new player could be trusted once more, Yusei continued his search through the haze of mild delirium and smoke. Minutes passed in sweltering temperatures as he uncovered another body and dragged it back to the desk. The people he had rescued earlier had been neatly stacked in the lifeboat with another three bodies. That left only... only...

For an instant, his dark companion was beside him as another figure was saved from the burning ship. Even with fresh air, it was taking him impossibly long to figure out that about three people should be left inside. Allowing himself the greedy gift of another few seconds of oxygen, Yusei pounded back through the smoke and left the other party behind. Past watering eyes and searing breaths, there weren't many places left that he could still check without being swallowed by flames. After another full five minutes in the living nightmare, he finally spied three bodies piled against a door with abrasions covering them and flames creeping up the corridor behind them. In the rush, they had clearly been crushed against the door and then trampled.

In all the various disaster exercises that Yusei had been obliged to undertake at the SRC, he had always scored the highest marks. But they had all been hypothetical. Right now, he was faced with the issue of three fully grown adults – doubtless of great levels of importance in their respective areas – two men and a woman who he would have to decide which to save and which one to leave behind. With ever-rising heat and danger, he made his choice.

Even as the fire reached a midpoint between the group of four and its starting place when he arrived, Yusei carefully knotted the damp pillowcase over the woman's mouth and draped her over his back. Grabbing a hand from each of the men, he carefully put one foot before the other and kept moving in what he hoped was the right direction to reach the boat.

Part of his mind wondered exactly how much use Musume could have been had he not ordered her to shepherd the other survivors and make sure they were a safe distance from the ship. It was only then, as he began stepping against the walls for better purchase, that he realised how far it was listing. Not much right now – maybe as little as ten degrees – but not righting itself at any point. Something down below the waterline appeared to have ruptured and the ship was mere minutes from a watery grave.

One foot in front of the other, he hauled his precious load towards the deck. With the weariness that seemed to have been with him since the very beginning of his life, part of Yusei wanted to collapse right there and sleep for several days. For a single instant, he could almost have believed that the dark figure to have saved him once before was helping to drag the bodies along the hall. Then Yusei was stumbling across the deck with flames licking right on his heels.

In all the confusion, it appeared that he had automatically found his way clear. Luck – finally returning since the fire had started – had allowed him to place the survivors inside the boat above the water. One of them was even starting to wake as Yusei managed to drop the last three passengers into their new transport.

"What's going on?" Carefully grasping the charred lapels of the man, Yusei focussed his usually towering intellect onto the insurmountable task of forming a coherent sentence.

"When the boat is in the water," Blood was pounding around his head and the world was slowly starting to tunnel now. "You have to unhook it. You understand?" A slightly absent nod was the only reply he could get before stumbling back to winch the boat clear. Whatever had kept the lights going was long dead and the only illumination was coming from the deadly flames spreading across the deck. One turn, two turns, three. Each revolution of the handle felt like some ungodly being had seized his head and was squeezing it tight.

After lifetimes of suffering, he finally was able to push the boat clear and begin the easier task of lowering it. Sparing a glance at the flames spreading along his shirt, Yusei noted with a clinical detachment that he was in absolute agony with one arm on fire and flames across his back. Feeling the lines suddenly go slack, he was at least able to take solace in the fact that the last members of the formerly amazing party were safely in the waters below. A passing fancy went to the fate of his assistant in the search. Seeing more than feeling the ship tip another few inches, he pitched over the rails in a drunken stumble and felt the wind rush past as the water reached up to claim him.

* * *

Icy water was a welcome shot of adrenaline and kept him from drowning as the loaded boat was forced away in the swells of the sinking ship. Such a current was temporary at best as the metal would soon create a down surge to drown anybody still in the water. Salt was searing the wounds in his back even as the frigid waters kept them numb. Striking out to the rescue boat he had just launched, Yusei tried in vain to reach it as the current pushed the larger object far faster than it did him.

"Yusei!" In his exhaustion, the exhausted hero had failed to register the sound of another approaching vessel. Driven by the makeshift oars of several pieces of debris and crewed by the rich and famous, Akiza had captained her vessel in a crude line towards him. Shouts of fear at the sinking ship beside them were kept to a minimum with a saw-toothed blade Musume had pulled from somewhere mysterious as she relaxed in her seat. Leaning over the edge of the boat like so many figureheads before her, Akiza reached for her constant companion. Careful not to excite the injuries, she pulled the beaten mess of a man from the vigilant clutches of the sea.

"Is anybody missing?" With possible muscle fatigue, oxygen deprivation and several dozen microbes attacking his systems, even asking a single question was taking Yusei several attempts.

"We haven't been able to check the other ship but we don't think so." It was the best that she could do at short notice. "But we don't have a radio on board and we're too far from land for a signal." Reaching into an inside pocket, a damp smile greeted the feel of a mobile phone handset.

"Good thing I improved my phone." Wrinkled fingers failed to find a grip on the case and Akiza was forced to grab it before it could fall into the black depths of the water. If Musume had thought to check her own phone, she would have enjoyed full service and the ability to call for help from the minute the boat went down.

"Who should I call?" Tucking both hands beneath his arms, Yusei began shivering beneath the hastily wrapped blankets provided by several other passengers. Although his handset had taken a short dip, it was still in working order.

"Start a new message to 'the Captain' and type 'SOS'." Possibly going delirious in his state, Yusei gave orders as carefully as he could. "Hold down the send button for three seconds. It will send our coordinates." As the last sections of the ship disappeared, a resulting swell dragged the surviving boats towards the deceptively calm waters. Vicious undercurrents threatened the safety of anybody leaning too close into the water.

"Who's 'the Captain'?" Careful to keep her tones light, Akiza snuggled against her friend in an effort to keep him warm. In a perfect world, she would have ordered a warm shower and fresh sheets but it was the best she could do with the warmth of herself and a reluctant Musume.

"Huh?" Exertions were piling on him quickly now. It was a struggle to think of even a simple answer.

"The person you had me text?" After a long moment, Yusei smiled. Everything that he had endured was meddling with his mind and making even the simplest question difficult.

"Oh Captain, my captain." It seemed to be an old quote from somewhere. "Back before the Enforcers, there weren't many people helping Martha. Winters were really hard. One day, things got really bad. Somebody snuck in and took a bunch of food. Jack cried, Crow cried, we all cried a bit." Everybody on the boat stopped talking at the admittance that Jack could – and had – actually shed tears. "Martha didn't even blink. She sends us all out to find any radio components we can. Somebody caught a few rats as well. I think it was Kalin." Eyes were starting to fog over as he slipped further into the past. Akiza would normally have shaken him out of such reverie but it was keeping him from slipping into shock. "Once we get back, Martha is going to have dinner ready. Not much left for afterwards but we have rats. Surprisingly good eating, if you can clean them properly. Not that we have to eat rat often. Too slippery." Gentle nudges brought him back to the story at hand. Some of the more generous sailors began donating spare jackets to cover Yusei with. "It'll be okay. Martha's got on the radio to a friend. She calls him 'the Captain'. Says he knows how to slip about without being caught. Doesn't like calling him very often." Smaller words were starting to slip through his sentences. Far away, an engine sounded with a steady beat. "Plenty of food to go around, if we can find him somewhere to hide him. Old recycling plant has a waste pipe big enough to fit a small boat. Kalin and Crow will scout around, Jack and I can unload the boat with Martha. Found out why she doesn't like the Captain. They travelled some years ago and he remembers the embarrassing stories. Plenty of food to go around now. Captain left contact information, says to call him if we need him. Likes to spend some time in New Domino just before winter sets in." A steady beat turned into a loud roar as help came to idle between the drifting survivors, dragging them all out of the bleak recollection and back into the present. Even just hearing the one brief tale of dread that saturated the Satellite had unsettled the listeners.

"Ahoy there!" Standing on the top of a sleek racing yacht with the enigmatic name 'C Mistress', silver hair shouted a greeting to the bobbing survivors. "Deliver your intentions or prepare to be boarded!" Standing as straight as he could on the uneven and rocking surface, Yusei shed his accumulated shell of jackets and cupped both hands around his mouth as his focus came back to the present.

"Clive, you miserable bastard, I almost drowned waiting for you to get out here! You're lucky there's nobody else in the water." A hearty laugh drifted the boat that much closer. Standing at the prow was a face that was wise, eyes that twinkled with laughter and a forehead that seemingly bulged with intelligence.

"I've called in every captain with a working tub. I'll take the worst fifty now, everyone else can stay put." Smiling slightly in the half-light, Yusei indicated the slumbering bodies clustered at one end of the boat and the other liferaft that was gradually drifting away.

"Some people have smoke inhalation. We could do with that diving equipment you keep stashed away." Pure oxygen would help the people in the other boat breath a easier. A swell jarred his upright posture and Akiza balanced on one knee to help stabilise him with a careful hand. "A few others haven't got jackets so any blankets would be a big help." Even across the distance, diamond eyes could see the streaks of soot and grime on Yusei's increasingly pale face.

"You should come and all." Though his tone brokered no argument, Yusei waved aside the command with the political indifference of one who was likely going to be dead or in jail soon anyway. "You're not looking too good."

"I'm fine. I'll just stay here and rest awhile." Noticing a damp stickiness in her hands, Akiza looked down in the dim light to see palms red with blood from Yusei's shirt. As he turned around, the extensive damage to his back could been seen clearly as he faltered and began to fall. As his vision dimmed into a tunnel, Yusei's collapsing mind noticed particular colours. Red blood on Akiza's hands, the scarlet weave of her hair and the crimson dragon mask looming over her shoulder.

Almost two miles away, unseen by the arriving boats, an unnoticed survivor gave a weary sigh, set sights on the nearest patch of land, took a rough guess on the tide and began heading for shore.

* * *

 ** _I have a 'sinking' feeling of negative reviews. Eh, eh? Yeah, I deserve them for that pun alone._**


	45. Light Burns

Smoke has a peculiar effect. Even if clothes are washed several times, some amount of smell will still cling to the fabric for weeks at a time. The smell of burnt skin can last even longer. When Yusei came back to his senses, he was lying on his stomach with the tinge of singed flesh rising from nearby. For some reason, he appeared to have been placed face-down on a massage bed. "You're awake." That tone sounded almost disappointed. Feet wrapped in medical covers entered the view he had of the floor beneath him. "The good doctor was worried for a minute there." Dulls throbs radiated through his body as he tried to sit upright. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Something gripped his neck and forced it back onto the bed in a distinctly un-gentle fashion as he realised who the voice belonged to. Knowing Musume was present was alarming enough to wake up the rest of the way and he started taking stock of his surroundings.

There was definitely something dripping through his bloodstream. Between that, the concussion he had taken after hitting the water and the searing pain across his shoulders, it was a miracle that he hadn't been unconscious long enough to suffer another seizure. "How long was I out?" The trainers moved out of his sight as Musume tugged at the corner of the curtains to peek outside.

"A few hours." Slowly running his right hand across his body, Yusei tried to take stock of his injuries. Bandages were wrapped tightly around most of his torso. Muscles spasmed as he tried to reach across and check his left hand. "Yeah, your back was burnt up fairly bad." A slim grip presented a phone beneath the bed. "I took pictures." Even without a background in medicine, the damage was severe. Part of him wondered exactly why she seemed to be delighting under his torture.

"Despite all the doctors trying to get you to stop." Another pair of feet entered his vision, wearing a pair of tattered old trainers. "Want to sit up?" Careful not to aggravate his injuries, Akiza slowly helped him upright to look about the room. Considering how many years had passed, he was surprised how well he remembered the room he had been placed in. Around the corner from the door, with glass windows offering good views of the city, the hospital had decided to put him back in the same room from eight years ago. Probably someone

"What happened?" Both women shared a glance, unhindered by the mask Musume still wore. If anyone asked, she pretended to be in shock. When one nurse had tried to take it off, she had broken his finger. Nobody had tried after that. Both were still wearing their clothes from the party with Akiza nestled inside a thick, thermal jacket.

"How much do you remember?" That was definitely a good question. His last bout of amnesia might have come about from breaking the laws of the universe but he was still human. Smoke inhalation would kill him as effectively as the next man.

"We got to the lifeboats. Some people were still left inside." That was when things started to get vague again. "I got some of them out. Collapsed." Unnoticed by him, the exertion of reliving events was pumping his heart faster and letting blood seep into his dressings. "Then somebody else was there." Resting his face in his palms, he struggled to remember more. Everything had been so clear in the moment, just light and shadows. "We got the last people out, swung the boat over. I fell." Although Yusei knew he must have hit the water, he could only remember the fall. "What happened to them?" In the struggle to hoist the boat, he had lost track of his companion. Being trapped on a burning, sinking boat was as close to certain death as it came.

"Nobody else was there." It sounded as clear to Musume as if she had been asked where the sun would rise. Walking back into that fire was lunacy, the dark outline she had seen merely a trick of the smoke. "Once the boat went down, emergency divers were dispatched. They found the bodies of the crew. Whoever took over the boat locked them in the freezer and tore off the handle. Everybody else is accounted for." Peering into the hazy recollections of his memories, the dark figure seemed to be slipping away, becoming an illusion of the fire and smoke. Could he have simply made a wet pillowcase for himself when he stopped in that room? And a burst of near-death adrenaline would explain how he carried the last three survivors out to the boats alone.

"America." Eager to prove his sanity, Yusei reached back to the tempest he had endured thousands of miles away. "They were in America, in the dust storm." Blood was starting to seep through his back at a faster rate, undoing the treatment he had already undergone. "It was because of them that we found the truck." Akiza gently – yet forcefully – pushed Yusei back down.

"There'll be plenty of time for that later. Try and relax." Indicating the door to her companion, she and Musume carefully left the patient to get some much-deserved rest. Akiza wanted to check in with his doctors and her companion hadn't left her alone for more than a minute since the boat had gone down.

For a second, it appeared that he had been left alone to rest. Then the door clicked open, momentarily flooding the room with the sound of hospital activities before it closed again. Silent footsteps disturbed his reprieve as two dark shoes appeared beneath his eyes. To better blend in with the hospital environment, they were hidden behind surgical foot covers. In fact, the entire ensemble was obscured beneath a medical outfit but he couldn't see higher than the concealed ankles.

"You made it out." There would almost certainly be no talking from the other party so Yusei spent what precious seconds he had trying to absorb everything he could about the portion he could observe. "I owe you one." Both feet moved apart slightly as an equally disguised arm reached down to touch the floor. Carefully tipping the latex-covered palm, a small object fell from the surface to clatter against the floor. Slightly warped and blackened from the fire, a ruby earring borrowed from Setsuko Izinski lay perfectly still on the ground. "Thank you." First one foot then the other vanished from his line of sight. After a few seconds, the door opened once more to let them out.

Reaching down forward with his hand, Yusei's throbbing fingers gently clutched the stone and brought it up to his vision. After a brief moment of examination, he tucked the accessory into his pocket. Whatever reason his guest had for not introducing themselves would be honoured, for now. But if they could get to him in the hospital then other parties could do so as well and blend into the crowd before anyone noticed.

Levering himself upright with several pained gasps, Yusei reached for the chart hooked over the side of his hospital bed. "First degree burns, superficial second in places." All things considered, he was outrageously lucky. That fire would have killed him if it had a minute more. The first-degree burns would be healed in a few days and the second-degree burns would gradually recover over the coming fortnight or, maybe, month. He'd manage. Pressing both feet against the cold floor, Yusei noticed the melted remains of his dress shoes carefully positioned beside the bed. It had been a nice suit while it lasted. Limping over to the door, he opened it with a sour grunt.

Walking directly towards him with Akiza at his side – and ruining any chance of quietly sneaking out – was the unpleasant face of Dr Streiter. Realising that he had been spotted, Yusei's only option was to straighten up and put on a brave face. Even though he wanted little more than to punch the man who had stolen Akiza's offered job before she could obtain it for herself. "I'm checking out." Although the pain, exertion and fumes had knocked him out better than a blow to the head, the actual wounds were relatively minor. Keeping him for observation was a waste of time. "Give me a form to sign and I'll sign it. I don't want to stay here a minute longer than I need to." A smug look from the doctor said everything. There was just no reasoning with some people. Especially when only one of them was not dealing with any legal troubles.

"Can we discuss this in your room?" Moderately grateful for the excuse to sit back down – he had utterly underestimated the amount of effort that it would take to stand upright with his injuries – Yusei carefully limped back to rest on the side of his bed. Entering the room, Akiza quietly closed the door behind them with Musume throwing herself into a chair outside.

"What's there to discuss?" Pain could be a fantastic motivator. It was making him aware that slumping would crumple the skin on his back and to sit bolt upright. "I'm out. Second-degree burns will heal easily enough, nerve damage from the third-degree burns means they won't even hurt."

"What he's trying to say," Using the overwhelming telepathy of not suffering from excessive smoke-inhalation, Akiza convinced Yusei to stop talking. And to recant his words if the option was available. "Is that his injuries are manageable without an extended stay in hospital."

"Dr Fudo, I _clearly_ value your colleague's opinion." Right there, as he had the audacity to refer to Yusei as 'Dr Fudo' but dismissed Akiza's actual medical degrees with 'your colleague' in that disgusted voice was when the physician lost any sort of authority. "But" Then one hand grabbed him by both lapels and dragged him close to the smoke-stained face.

"I took on the best Duellists in the world and beat every single one." Growling the words through the throbbing in his head only reinforced just how little staying in the hospital meant to him. Between pounding flashes of darkness, Yusei realised that he had grabbed the doctor with his thickly burned right hand. "I negotiated with an international tribunal after almost two weeks without sleeping." If anyone listened very carefully, they would have heard his voice start to break under the stress of restraining himself. "So unless there is a vital medical need for me to remain here, I _am_ going to check myself out." Enough emphasis went on the word that it was in danger of collapsing under the weight.

"I've had medical training." Touching either shoulder was out of the question so Akiza placed an authoritative hand on his left upper arm instead and stopped Yusei from turning his doctor into another patient. "I can make sure that he doesn't overexert himself." Unlike the other doctor, she knew enough that Yusei wasn't actually cracking up under the strain but just putting on a good enough show that he would be let out. "Or are you going to explain to the entire SRC legal department why you're refusing to let a member of their staff leave?" The threat was clear. An international tribunal had come together and Yusei was still allowed to walk free. One mildly incompetent physician was not a challenge.

"I'll get that paperwork sorted." That greasy hair of Streiter's was only matched by the panic-sweat pouring down his face. Drawing him in even closer, Yusei let the smell of burning match the intensity of his gaze for a second.

"You do that." Then he let go and watched with grim satisfaction as the doctor stumbled back in an instinctive effort to gain some protective distance between them. Unable to marshal a scathing comeback, he scurried out the room with every intention of slamming the door shut behind him. But something about that growling dragon mask had him fleeing down the corridor without another word.

"You shouldn't strain yourself so soon." Magically appearing at Yusei's left, Akiza gently lowered him back onto the edge of the bed. "It could cause complications."

"I've only got some light burns." As much as his wooziness was draining attention, her presence was forcing a prideful instinct to show no sign of burden. "And he had it coming."

"Oh?" Perching herself by his side, she noticed that he seemed to have not noticed to be topless. "In that case, I can probably call him back. You can give it another go." A gruff chuckle instantly turned into a wince of pain. Shallow breathing was the extent of his exertions at that moment. Dragging Streiter up again would have to remain a joyous fantasy for the time being.

A young nurse cautiously perched his head around the corner of the door before Akiza could give any more cause for mirth. "Exit paperwork." From the way that he awkwardly shuffled into the room to hand them the clipboard, it was clear that Musume was still glowering on the other side of the door. "Streiter looked a bit shaken up. About time someone put a bit of fear in him."

"Give him my apologies." As Yusei scribbled his signature on various lines, he noted the disrespectful absence of any title.

"Not a chance." The nurse snorted. Yusei raised one eyebrow as he carefully held out the board to be returned. "Guy rubs a lot of people up the wrong way. Bastard's got connections so nobody wants to speak out." An unfortunate state of affairs but – as long as he didn't do anything too conspicuous – there was little the staff could do. "Here, I thought that you could use these." Dipping a hand into one pocket, he came back with a face mask and medical hairnet.

"Thanks." The fire had singed the ends of his hair. He could feel them as he awkwardly tried to put the covering on with his one good hand. Luckily, the nurse was professional enough to say nothing when Akiza reached up and did it for him. "What's it like outside?"

"There's a lot of reporters crowding the doors. We've been releasing a lot of the patients from the boat in batches and everyone's hungry for an interview." Although a lot of people had nothing worse than scraped shins, the hospital had checked over everyone properly. " _What you didn't hear from me_ was that the ambulance bay around the back is empty."

"We owe you one." Looping the mask over his right ear first, it appeared that some tiny modicum of luck still existed in his life. Trying to sleep with burnt ears was a nightmare but his soft flesh seemed to have been spare. "How do I look?" Keeping some hair free from the net, it dangled down to cover his criminal facial marking. With the combination of dark trousers and no top, he looked like a rejected cover model for a bad punk-rock band and the nurse was willing to say as such.

Toying absently with the handset that had been sent to her, their young guard was considering which party to reach out to about a very specific problem when the door beside her opened. "We're going back to Poppo Time." Looking up at Akiza's words, any outward display of emotion was muted by her mask as the nurse went back to his duties. One thing was clear though. They would be making the trip back alone.

"Good for you." Standing up, circumstances made the choice for her. Her options had realistically only been two people and having to be around one of them also meant being around Yusei. After the boat, her animosity towards him was right back at the highest possible levels. "I've got some stuff to sort out."

Akiza knew there was no point in arguing. There was a ranking system for the group's stubbornness. Until Musume had risen from the nearly-dead comatose state she had been in, the most stubborn amongst them had definitely been Akiza. It appeared that the combination of her genetics and Crow's upbringing had produced a monster which understood no convincing.

"Be careful." With Yusei's back looking like so much bubble-wrap and the stench of smoke still curling around them all, there was no real need to speak the warning aloud. "We don't know what's going on yet." It was almost certainly because of at least one of the three but simply pinning it on Yliaster would be too hasty. This sort of attack was completely outside of anything that they had done before. "Make sure to call us when you can. Let us know you're alright."

"Sure." Noticing the effort Akiza was taking to help her companion walk down the corridor, Musume curled a lip beneath her mask as they inched past her. "See you around." Unlike the slowly departing pair, she didn't have to worry about the crowds and was able to simply elbow her way through the front doors. Just because she didn't have to worry about the crowds did not mean that they shouldn't worry about her.

As Musume elbowed, shoved and – in the case of one journalist who grabbed her arm in an almost rabid attempt to get a quote from anyone leaving the hospital – punched her way to freedom, Yusei slowly shuffled down staff corridors in the direction of the ambulance bay. Word had spread from a certain nurse about the sudden reality shock that Dr Streiter had been introduced to and nobody seemed in any hurry to have them escorted out of the secure areas.

Curiously, they weren't the only ones who were intruding in places they should be. This was made unsettlingly clear as the pair actually managed to reach the ambulance bay and breath fresh air for the first time in hours.

"That was fast." Limping around on the spot, Yusei glared suspiciously at the figure waiting immediately outside the external doors. Leaning against a wall was a face that he hadn't seen in months. "Hang on, let me finish this." Raising one hand in a slight wave, he was dragging the last of a cup of coffee from the other.

"Inspector." Dressed in plain clothes, it was difficult to tell the 'off-duty' cop from a vigilant private citizen. "Akiza, you remember Inspector Kazama." Although he had only been a sergeant when Jack sabotaged his undercover operation, Kaz was steadily climbing the ranks. He was just like a younger, less grumpy Trudge except people liked seeing him and it didn't take a solid decade to enter an intimate relationship.

"Kaz." Nodding familiarly at the officer, she knew how long the odds were that he just happened to be in the ambulance bay at the exact same time they were trying to sneak out of the hospital. There was a far more obvious explanation. "Trudge?"

"Trudge." As Vice-Chief of Special Investigations, Trudge was involved in the first-response investigation into the boat sinking. As Chief of Special Investigations, Mina had deployed her best people and taken a nap on the way to her warm office to help coordinate in comfort. There were perks to being the leader. "Hey, check this out." Noting the massive look of doubt that Yusei was expressing through bloodshot eyes, Kaz stuffed his cup in an overflowing bin. "Buddy." Whistling at an ambulance driver just coming off duty, a wave of his badge and the sight of a crispy celebrity extended that shift just a while longer. "Can we get a lift?"

"Whistle at me again and you'll find out what getting hit by an ambulance feels like." Ambulance drivers are known for being miracle workers with mobile hospitals. Considering the massive amount of equipment they contained, being hit by an ambulance would make being rescued by one impossible. "You get signed out by a doctor or is this an escape scenario?" A little-known fact about ambulance drivers is the amount of weaponry they keep hidden within reach. Having vast quantities of medication nearby made them permanent targets for several types of criminals.

"Bit of both. Can you get us past the reporters outside? I've got an undercover car a few blocks away." The driver mulled it over for several seconds. Kaz was definitely holding a police badge. And she was shrewd enough to recognise the distinctive criminal brand that couldn't be easily hidden.

"That's weird." Making a show of checking her watch, she clambered back into her seat. "Looks like I've got a few more minutes before my shift's over. I can do a quick run around the block to see if there's anyone in trouble."

"Thanks." Opening the rear door for the escapees to clamber through, Kaz quickly took up the passenger seat in the front of the cabin. "Hey, do you have one of those hats spare? I've always wondered what I'd look like as a paramedic."

"Sure." Waiting until the rear door was fastened, the driver sent a withering look at her co-pilot. She was already starting to regret this favour. "Can I borrow your Shock Baton? I've always wondered what I'd look like clubbing a heckler."

"You're welcome to borrow mine. How about I give it to you over drinks while I apologise?" Giving a coy smile, he jammed a cap on his head and matched her glare "Kaz." Reaching out a hand, that smile widened slightly.

"Aiko." Shaking the hand once, she actually smiled at his blatant optimism. "But it'd better not be that slop I saw you drinking before." Hospitals and police stations had one thing in common – universally awful coffee. "I expect a proper apology."

"Can we go now?" It was rare that Yusei had to push a point but they were doing an astoundingly poor job of sneaking him out of the hospital.

"Sure thing." Sharing an eye-roll with Aiko, the policeman looked back at the main cabin where the patient was perched on the edge of the gurney and holding the wall opposite for support. "Poppo Time, coming right up."

"Actually." Most people would have watched their life flash before their eyes in the fire aboard the boat. Yusei had seen something very different. "There's one stop that we have to make first."

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" In the pre-dawn mist that surrounded the city, few people were awake. Those that were shuffled around like zombies. For those who viewed night and day as either free lighting or that time when fewer distractions were around, the exact time didn't matter. "What if someone from security sees us?"

"We're on the grounds." After a few false starts, they had discovered that keeping his legs in a semi-permanent crouch was the easiest way forward. "They know we're here." Local security tended to take a preventative approach. If anyone came within spitting distance of a building, they were put thorough background checks.

"Step." The step to Building Eight was only an inch high but enough to cause slight difficulty. The SRC had been designed to be accessible for everyone yet nobody had thought about if a recent burn victim trying to sneak into their office. "And why do you expect the doors to open for us?" Even if they had been allowed to get that far already, getting inside was more difficult. There wasn't an inside man this time.

"Because you have access." At which point, the doors opened. "Hang on." Taking a knee, he refused to let any signs of pain flicker across his face. Singed fingers curled around the discarded earpiece on the floor and the lanyard it was tied to. They were something that he had been forced to protect from anyone who might try to abuse the authority they represented. Picking them back up was no grand gesture but reinforced his silent promise to keep standing up to whatever came. They could try and frame him, blow up a boat beneath his feet and he would match anything that came.

"Got what you needed?" It was clear that he could stand back up without her help but Akiza gripped his arm and hefted just the same.

"Not yet. We need to go to my office." Limping in the direction of the elevator, it wasn't just security personnel that had spotted them on the grounds. The cameras would have picked them up and that meant the computer behind them was ready with a projection hovering in the lift as the pair stepped inside.

"Abi." Smiling through the pain shooting across his back, Yusei was relieved to see the glowing blue spectre of his creation. "It's good to see you."

" _How could you let this happen!_ " Floating up to eye-height, she glared out at Akiza even as the sheer volume of her voice rattled the reinforced container. " _He hates parties but_ _you_ _insisted that he go and look at what happened!_ "

"That's enough!" It was rare that he had to raise his voice. In fact, it was the first time that he could remember having to do so with Abi. She usually was a lot better at reading the room. "It was my choice to go and I took Akiza with me. Is there anything that you want to complain to _me_ about?" Taking advantage of the vagueness of his question, she switched conversational tracks as the lift rose up the shaft.

" _Astronomy is complaining that I'm screwing with their data. They sent three emails claiming the moon is slowing down._ " Spending their nights stargazing in remote locations did strange things to the astronomers from time to time. It didn't help that a few of them engaged in recreational activities that they claimed helped their studies. " _And Mr Pessimal wants you to know that he has almost finished his preliminary report._ " Even though she was pretending to act professionally, outraged eyes were actually glitching as they glared at Akiza. Abi had never actually been this angry before and didn't have any visual cues prepared.

"Did any of them fail their drug tests?" Of the many excuses that had come from the astronomy department – including the position of the planets affecting their moods (there was an unusual amount of astrologers in the astronomy department) – this was a new one. It was more likely that a few of them had overly indulged in 'special pastries'. Plain marijuana wouldn't cut it at the SRC. Yusei had to pretend that several genii who worked under him didn't exchange experimental chemical concoctions which made marijuana look like literal grass. Since they had even managed to iron out the kinks, he let them enjoy themselves as long as it didn't get out of hand.

The lift doors opened at the same that Abi started replying. Flickering out into the hallway, she didn't let it faze her. " _Not recently. But their data is only marginally off. It's probably just a prank._ " Exactly what inspired the various minor skirmishes between scientific factions was unclear but their sense of humour was 'quirky'.

"Can you take a look at their equipment?" Astronomers shared a lot of their data so it was potentially dangerous if the equipment was actually faulty. "Just in case. Akiza, would you mind?" They had finally reached his office but opening the heavy door was beyond his means. Careful to remain within distance to grab Yusei if he fell, she pushed open the door and scooped up his arm as they entered.

"What are we here for anyway?" Ignoring the question, he shuffled in the direction of the safe in the left wall. Waving off his support, he placed his left hand against the wall for balance and carefully began entering his lengthy code.

Putting the entire building into lockdown had also enabled a handful of additional security features to make the process more arduous. Even with the already crispy sensation from the burns on his back, having a needle jabbed into his finger sent a tiny shiver through his body as a blood sample was taken.

" _He's scared of needles._ " Irked with her father for his earlier scolding, Abi was quick to sell out the secret.

"I'm not scared of them." Growling slightly as his fingerprint was scanned and checked for a pulse, Yusei didn't appreciate the gossiping going on behind him. "I just don't like them."

"Like how you're not scared of insects." Sagely nodding to his words, Akiza had spotted the perfect part of his back to insert her dagger of betrayal. "But just never got around to visiting the entomology department since setting up their labs." Din had blackmail material on everyone. As she had a unique relationship with the SRC Director, he had intentionally let slip a few choice tidbits of gossip.

"Isn't there something in the Hippocratic Oath about not torturing your patients?" With the last layer of security (in the form of a flickering retinal scan) safely passed, the thick safe door swung open. A few items lay inside. Old mementoes from the first days of the SRC that were too dangerous to simply leave lying about, some files that covered projects which had 'never taken place' at the SRC. Lying atop the piles was a stack of cards that only two people in the world could have reached without a full military assault. Reaching out his burned right hand, Yusei wrapped it about his Deck and withdrew it from the safe. "Okay then." Putting the cards in his pocket, he closed the container back up again and turned to face the room. "Ready to go home?"

"Unless you've got another errand to waste time on." Propping him up on her shoulder again, Akiza gave a weary smile. She had been awake a lot longer than she had expected and could really do with some sleep. And it was obvious that she wasn't the only one. "Abi, can you take care of everything for a couple of days? Yusei's going to be taking things easy." A pointed aspect of that smile perfectly explained that he would be getting rest regardless of whatever fresh crisis arose. Despite their differences, Abi and Akiza could always agree on what was best for Yusei.

* * *

Since the biggest news in weeks had broken and the waking public would be hungry for answers, news helicopters were buzzing all across the sky. Over the bay where the first wave of emergency divers had reported a locked walk-in fridge which had contained the dead bodies of all crew that had been outside the ballroom. Over the harbour where the survivors had been checked out with first-responders. Circling the hospital where the few injured had been taken in order to receive medical attention. Under different circumstances, Musume would have simply flown to where she needed to go. But getting seen would have drawn more unnecessary attention. Instead, she had to resort to walking.

Having to walk after the action pace of a Turbo Duel just underlines how drastically dull the ordeal really is. When actual flight is possible, it becomes a sort of punishment. Cutting through a network of alleyways near the hospital, the quiet progress was noted by an unexpected party. Since the screaming on the boat had sent the screaming in her head spiralling out of control, she could be forgiven for being a bit distracted. But being distracted in a dark alley was just reckless and Musume was never reckless. It was why she heard the creak of a wheel moving and instantly focused on the situation.

"Who's there?" Narrowing her eyes, a slight gleam started to burn. Her mother was a safe distance from that place. She could afford to cut loose a little. If only she had been facing the right way. Unusual city acoustics had made it sound like the noise had been coming from ahead instead of the other direction.

Judging from the click that came from behind Musume, there was something pointed right at her that nobody wanted to be on the business end of. "What the fuck are you doing here?" If she hadn't just barely recognised the voice, the confrontation would have ended there and then. Turning on the spot, she saw the weirdest getup since... well, since some of the more 'artistically' dressed patrons on the sunken ship. "Wait, let me guess." Carrying a narrow tube tightly under one arm, Obake was still covering his eyes – even in the dead of night – with a pair of stolen novelty sunglasses. But that wasn't the weirdest part of his outfit. That honour went to the fisherman waders and the fluffy jacket he had shrugged over the top. "Another supernatural crisis that involves destroying the lives of innocents?" Pointed directly at her centre mass was a sharp metal implement straight from a horror film. In addition to his new ludicrous outfit, it appeared that he had somehow pilfered a small harpoon from whatever shack he had stumbled through.

"Shouldn't you be scurrying back to your hole in the ground by now?" She had intended to ask him for anything he knew about Yliaster but there was something intensely aggravating about his tone. And the fact that he appeared to be dressed as a fisherman/prostitute/pimp was having an odd effect on her sense of humour.

"Have you tried getting across a city without being seen?" In a life where every networked camera, every police report, every mode of transport was a way of being hunted down, getting around was increasingly difficult. At least people had assumed he was on his way to a costume party and not raised questions about the harpoon. "We don't all have magic powers to turn us invisible or whatever." Other than turning mildly sarcastic, his tone didn't change from its aggravating registers.

"How did you even get back to land?" Not that she actually cared but the list of people who knew about Yliaster barely reached the double digits. Even losing a potential ally could be a great setback. "When the boat went down, you didn't make it to any of the rafts." She had checked the three lifeboats for anybody who could have potentially colluded with Yliaster but nobody had stuck out as they floated in the life rafts while the cruise ship sank beneath icy waves.

"In case you forgot," That device was still held loosely in his hand. Musume didn't like something so much like a weapon in the hands of somebody who hated her so much. "It was a short distance to the shore." A rookie mistake would have been to try and swim in the opposite direction of the boat to escape quicker. Swimming directly away allowed a person to escape the risk of being swept up by the turbines beneath the waterline. Either would have been drastically hampered by wearing a full suit. Which explained the new look. "Just stay away from me."

"Hey." Stepping into his path as he tried to move past, she could feel the cloying presence of Red Nova feeding her anger, feeding _off_ it. It was a struggle to keep it in check when she was already so angry from the boat. "What's your problem? We've saved your life _twice_ now." Saving a person's life generally earned a lot of favour. Despite saving his twice (or three times, if Yusei's original offer of protection) it only appeared to be deepening some sort of grudge he had against them.

"When? When Yliaster had no idea I was even in America?" From the other side of the argument, events seemed a lot more monochromatic. "Or how about when I tried to sneak into the first proper party of my life and the boat _exploded_?"

"How is either of those our fault?!" Turning deeper into the alleyway, Obake began heading for another exit as Musume strode after him. "Who killed those Agents in America? Who jumped out of a window instead of going for a lifeboat?" At the time, she had been grateful that someone had eliminated the danger but killing those four people had quickly come back to haunt them.

"Fourteen!" Shouting in a hushed whisper to avoid drawing attention, the pale man whirled on the spot and thrust the pole in his hand like a lance. "That's how old I was when a death sentence was put on my head. A child finds some computer files and has to _**die**_ for it?! Where were you all _then_?" Waving the barb about, Obake appeared not to have seen the Pegasus Trinidad pictures which revealed just how much Musume looked like a younger Akiza. "What about the times they caught me? Times they _tortured_ me? For information, to make a _point_. Who came to save me then?!"

"Always so quick to blame somebody else." At the time they were facing off in that alleyway, nobody had mentioned to her how Obake had seemingly stumbled across the unhackable and unmovable files. Musume genuinely had no idea who was responsible for drawing him into the war. "What have _you_ done to change your situation? Hidden away, hoping they would eventually forget about you? Admit it, you _never_ even thought about trying to fight." Then he said something that made even Red Nova step back so that she would always know it had been her choice to react in the manner she did.

"Maybe I could earn my freedom by selling out you Signers to Yliaster. Then _you_ can see what good fighting them is." In retrospect, she should have taken a minute to process her rage. As it was, Musume shoved Obake back down the alley with one foot stumbling over the other in an attempt to regain balance. Reaching a mouldy wall behind an overflowing dumpster, he bounced against the bricks and straightened with a tight jaw at the unwarranted attack.

"Don't," Smashing a palm into his sternum, she snatched the four-foot device from his grip as he fell against the slime again. "Threaten," Draping the barrel across her right forearm, she aimed and pulled the trigger in one fluid motion. "My family." To his credit, Obake didn't scream as the metal rod went through his shoulder and pinned him to the wall. Worse torture had been visited on him and she had shot directly through the same place a piece of rebar had pierced some years previously. Some might have called it fate, some might have claimed that a higher power had intervened to move the path of the projectile just enough to avoid fresh injury and all of them would have called the experience excruciating. Most of the pain receptors in Obake's arm were already dead from the previous injury but it still hurt more than most people would ever endure.

"Go on," Slumping slightly as blood began pouring from his wound, gritted teeth snarled up at her in carefully targetted insults. "Kill me. Prove how much _better_ you are than Yliaster." Although it was a small consolation, the barbs had perfectly attached the anchor point to the wall. He wasn't in danger of falling.

"Kill you?" Dropping the device by his trembling feet, she watched the first drips of crimson liquid collect at the end of the road and began falling to the ground. "You're not worth the effort." Turning on her left heel, she unhurriedly left the man pinned to the wall and vanished back into the night. A cracked bulb flickered overhead and went dead in dramatic fashion, leaving Obake in the darkest part of the alley and hidden from anybody who might have chosen to help him.

Most people would have panicked and tried to simply drop or maybe step away but either could make the metal pole cause more damage as it exited through the hole again. Balling up as much material from a lapel as he could fit into his mouth, Obake carefully inched his way off the metal rod. Exactly how shrill the screams were as he slid free from the anchor and cutting cold air began circulating through the latest injury of his body was up for debate. Fallout considered, it had possibly been a bit too much to declare utter hatred of her precious family.

Peeling off the jacket as far as he could, endless layers of duct tape were crudely patched over the hole. It would require greater care once he was in safer grounds but keeping the blood inside would have to suffice for the moment. Wiping off as much blood as he could from the metal pole, he squished the weapon into a dumpster. It was better not to leave any signs of the brutal encounter but getting the rod out would be impossible with one arm. Tugging the ruined jacket back into place, he stumbled off down the maze of backstreets and alleyways as the last of his blood dripped from the metal pole in the wall.

Unconcerned with the possibly fatal blow she had dealt, Musume was more focused on the grim reality of what she had lost. Before, she had been unstoppable. Now, any normal person could easily ambush her in an alleyway. Pulling out her phone, she placed a call to an unusual choice. Since it was still before dawn, she went straight to the answering machine. "Hey, it's me." There was never any need to introduce herself. Either people knew who she was or they weren't important. "I need your help with something. I'll be outside." Ending the message, she could feel the momentary rush of adrenaline already fading. Walking really was incredibly dull.

* * *

Acting as a crutch by lifting Yusei's undamaged arm, Akiza carefully helped him up the stairs at Poppo Time. Going was slow as he could only move with his legs and had to be careful not to flex his back. If either of his brothers had been present, jokes would have been exchanged. Hoshi was kindly filling in for them, gradually following the pair up the stairs, one step at a time and hissing every time they paused. Walking really was incredibly painful.

"Where are they?" Even though he would have hated to greet his brothers in his condition, Yusei was concerned that they weren't at Poppo Time. News of the boat had already spread across the city and he would have expected them to be guarding their home.

"They 'volunteered' to help Trudge." Exactly what her tone was meant to imply was unclear. Either the grizzled policeman had drafted them to irritate any suspects into giving up their secrets or they had badgered him into letting them join the investigation while their brother recuperated. "They're down at the docks with Clive, trying to find anyone who noticed anything last night." The silver-haired sailor had an uncanny personal ability to be friends with everyone. Even Jack had been known to call him 'captain'. If anything had been amiss at any of the marinas, Clive would be the one to uncover it.

"Poor Trudge." Wincing slightly as they made the second floor, he wasted no time in savouring the accomplishment. "Did you notice that he wasn't there to pick us up after the boat?"

"Disgraceful." Even with the massive calamity that had happened, Trudge would have been late anyway. He had been banking on spending more than five minutes at home with Mina before heading back to collect them. "He _deserves_ to deal with Jack and Crow."

"I know that you're just saying that to be nice." Actually being able to feel the air through the canyons of his burns, Yusei felt a wave of affection for his interim doctor. Also, pain as exposed nerves were stimulated and flared into fresh agony. "But it's weird to see them working together. Or doing _anything_ socially productive."

"Crow used to be a Sector Security officer." Admittedly, he had signed up to take advantage of his position and quit as soon as the department switched over to being regular police. "And Jack..." Even in intense pain, a deadpan look was able to convey that his brother had never done anything more arduous for society than not committing a crime. "Has other strengths."

"Yeah, let's go with that." With his current inability to open the door to his room, it probably wasn't the best time to be speaking about Jack's shortcomings. Shuffling across the room, he levered down to fumble with a handle before Akiza swept in to save him from himself. It wouldn't be the first time that she did so and was far from the last. "Here." Carefully taking the pile of cards from his trembling fingers, she carefully put them beside a set already inside.

"Oh?" Able to straighten up by himself, he tried to maintain independence by closing the drawer with his knee. It earned him a bruise, knocked everything in the drawer in chaotic directions and ended up proving that it was the smallest changes that could save the day. "You're keeping your Deck in my room now?" Duelling etiquette was a delicate and detailed topic. Leaving your Deck in the care of someone else was a sign of the deepest trust. Jack would sooner share his coffee than leave even one of his cards in someone else's hands.

"Well, Crow needed his room back." Evading the question slightly, she tried to avoid meeting his gaze. "And you weren't using yours so I decided to borrow it for a while." And he had been asked by the ICC to demonstrate the effectiveness of his neural inhibitor. So the two nights that he had needed sleep since the dinner party had been under close observation at the SRC and they had yet to negotiate the tricky problem of room allocation.

"Ah." If she hadn't known better, she might have said he sounded disappointed by the answer. Lowering him onto the bed, she watched as he winced while settling into place.

"I need a shower." Beneath a jacket that had been passed to her by Clive during the rescue, Akiza's beautiful dress was in tatters and the clinical smell of hospital was clinging to her hair. "And you need some rest. Here," Slipping the fisherman's jacket on the back of his office chair, she demurely gestured to an almost invisible fastener at the base of her dress. "Unzip me." While it was possible to do the dress herself, having both hands occupied working the tiny piece of metal made it impossible to catch the front as it peeled away.

Having burns across most of his back and down one arm could excuse his trembling fingers as they carefully moved the zip just a fraction lower than was strictly needed to take the dress off. "Thanks." Before the fire, sinking ship, burns and hospital, there had been a plan which included the words 'far enough'. Instead, she quietly slipped out of the room with a towel keeping her modesty protected and a small bundle grabbed from a drawer in her spare hand.

While Yusei struggled to undo his belt and let his trousers slip to the floor without actually moving his back, Akiza carefully slipped out of her own outfit. The dress was ruined, gashed from the struggle to the lifeboats, sodden in seawater during the ride and imbued with the stench of smoke. Her shoes had gone at some point when she hadn't been paying attention. Only one earring was still looped through her lobe, the other dropped on the boat. Only the thick jacket showed no signs of damage. She would remember to thank Clive for that when returning it. For now, it just joined the heap on the floor as she reached for the shower controls

Once the water was running and steam filled the room, she stepped inside the tub, crumpled to the bottom and let terrified tears stream down her face. This hadn't been a Shadow Duel with equal stakes or a game that had a fair chance of being won. Somebody had slipped aboard the boat with the intention of killing everyone aboard. Because of her selfish stubbornness, Akiza had put herself, Yusei and even Musume at risk from being caught in the fallout. Abi had been right. Regardless of knowing about the danger beforehand, she had made the choice which had brought it into their lives.

After she had managed to regain enough control to stand again, she carefully towelled herself down and wiped her face clean. Some people had mastered the art of crying gracefully but Akiza had found few reasons to shed tears in previous months and her puffy eyes showed it. Combing her hair back into place with trembling fingers, she left the towel to dry on the back of the bathroom door and stepped out into the corridor.

Entering the uncertainly owned bedroom again introduced her to a strange sight. "That looks... uncomfortable." Yusei's back still in agony whenever it touched anything so the orders to keep his body relaxed were best followed by laying himself flat on his bed. A pillow under his chest left enough distance from the mattress for his head to hang loose but it did little to help the wounds on his right arm.

"At least it only looks that way." So much of his back had been burned that it was difficult for the hospital to deal with it. They had coated the worst parts with burn salve but options had been limited in terms of covering them up. "Don't worry, they only tickle a bit. Except that one," Using his unburned left hand, he managed to gently touch a spot just above the waistband of his boxers without aggravating the injuries. "It kinda itches." Quiet footsteps approached the edge of his bed and he could feel Akiza evaluating the damage. "Don't even think about it."

"No idea what you're talking about." With so much damage to so much of his body, even Akiza was able to doubt she could do much to help with serious repercussions to herself. "Chilly in here."

"Helps keep the swelling down." An open window was keeping the room too close to freezing point to be comfortable for most people. Winter was closing in and the mornings were getting frosty. "Was there something I could help you with?" Twisting his neck all the way to the side let him see Akiza from the corner of one eye. She was dressed in a comfortable pair of shorts and a baggy shirt, one blanket bundled under an arm.

"Move over." Settling on the edge of the bed, she shuffled over to reach a point beside him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Moving was difficult in his current state but Yusei did the best he could with one working arm. Unfurling the blanket, Akiza spread it over herself and squeezed slightly closer to him.

" _Hush._ " Dragging his working arm under her head, she nestled it under a pillow and held them in place by resting her head atop the bundle. "Give me your hand." Although the fire had spread from his arm, the flowing path it had taken kept the wounds superficial compared to those on his back. Taking his wrist in a gentle grip, Akiza carefully wrapped his arm over her midriff and pulled them closer together so that the blanket at least partially covered his form. It was still uncomfortably chill on his back yet something about the unyielding pressure of her hand holding his in place was undeniably relaxing. A few minutes after he stopped trying to tug his hand back, those gentle fingers moved from his wrist to start tracing absent patterns on the back of his palm.

"What are we doing?" That smell was back again. Like strawberries mixed with excitement.

"Taking a nap." Breathing in slower breaths, Akiza was clearly keeping to her words. Not even soldiers could learn to control their sleep as well as doctors who regularly worked four straight shifts without break. After the events of the night before and having volunteered to help patch up the wounded at the hospital, Akiza was ready to spend the day asleep.

"No, I mean us." Just enough space existed between his pinned arm and her head for Yusei to bend his wrist and gently brush the hair covering Akiza's face aside.

"Doing what scientists always do." Drawing his arm in a bit tighter, she didn't seem to care just how much it was trembling. It wasn't from pain, that much was certain. Only his upper arm was hurting and she was being careful not to aggravate those areas. "Seeing what happens."

"Are we going to talk about what happened last time?" Forcing her tired eyes open, Akiza watched the fingers brushing back and forth just above her singed lashes. If it hadn't been for the warmth at her back, she doubted that she could have relaxed enough to sleep. Even as the next words sent her heart pounding. "Eight years ago?"

"Do you think it really matters?" Idly moving a finger around on the hand held in position over her stomach, she could feel where the hairs had been singed short under the intense heat of the burning boat. "After everything that happened, I was too confused to try again then. I'm here now." Gentle breaths ghosted over her ear as Yusei leant in slightly to the contact for the first time that he could remember. "Go to sleep. I'll still be here when we wake up."

It was the small things that were drawing Yusei away from the pain in his back. How Akiza's fingers fit between his own, her slowing pattern of breathing as she nestled in his arms. That way she had said 'we'. Real peace did not come as easily as his calm did but even the recent events couldn't quite match up to the feeling that lay slumbering in his embrace. Careful not to aggravate his injuries further, Yusei carefully drew his companion in slightly closer and breathed in that heady scent as he drifted towards dreams that could no longer be preferable to reality.

"Hey, Yusei?" Even though it had been years since he had last been unafraid of going to sleep, he would put it off if she asked.

"Mmmm?" Forcing an eye open a crack, only the blurred colour of her hair filled his vision.

"You still owe me a dinner." A slight smile crossed his face as the darkness closed his eyes.

* * *

 _ **There's a bit of a backlog I'll be working on clearing so you can expect a few more chapters soon. They were meant to be happening in real-ish time but delays happen. Just like reviews.**_


	46. First Appearance

_Sitting silently in her chair, the aged woman paused in her story. "So?" Sitting in the other chair, her intrusive guest leaned forward eagerly. "What happened next?" After the exciting events on the boat and the ill-advised escape from the hospital, she was obviously eager to listen to the next chapter of the story._

" _I've thought a lot about it over the years." Ignoring the question, her experienced eyes were looking somewhere far away and long ago. "The boat?" Looking up, the flames of that disaster still seemed to flicker in those eyes. "That was nothing. It could have been done by anyone, happened to anyone. What came after was far worse." It wasn't the disaster on the sunken ship that haunted her voice. There was something else. Memories of an event that came soon afterwards._

" _... We do not have to talk about it if you do not want to." Sensing the slight building of an old distress, the guest carefully tilted her head down to look up at the storyteller. Pushing for more of the story would have been insensitive._

" _Might as well." Wriggling her stick around a bit, the pensioner watched the shadow dip back and forth on the floor with care. "Not much good that keeping it secret will do. Y'see, that was the day that everything changed."_

" _Oh?" Now that there had been time to adjust, the story no longer seemed to be a source of fear. "What was so special about it?"_

" _What's that old saying?" Etching out a whimsical smile, one eye closed in a happy wink. "A butterfly flapped its wings."_

* * *

It was difficult for Musume to trust anyone. Everybody she had ever known was gone and the only possible constant – the Spirit World – had been blocked off from her. She would usually have gone about things in a more violent fashion but her experiences in (and since) the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament had proven exactly how disastrous such a path could result in. It had taken every shred of decency and humility that she possessed to actually reach out and ask for help. Although 'ask' was stretching the truth. 'Demanded' was more like it.

True to her voicemail message, she had been waiting outside but not in the way normal people would have done. Most people waited 'outside' the property as to inches from the door. Leo had certainly been surprised to see glowing eyes and a devilish outline on the other side of the glass separator to the patio when he went down for an early glass of water. After Luna had managed to clear her head of the echoes of his screams, she had patiently listened to the problem and promised to ask her Spirit friends to look into the matter. In exchange, Musume would promise to start using the _front_ door.

During the first hour with Luna absent in the Spirit World, Musume had moved back outside. Being inside was slightly unnerving for her after the events of the previous night. By the time the sun had properly risen, she had grown to the point where her options were to leave the penthouse or punching Leo in his awestruck face as he kept stealing glances at her constantly displayed wings. Instead of risking his death, she left the Tops and relocated herself to a grimy apartment building rooftop nearer to Poppo Time. She had wanted to be close in the event that anything happened to Akiza while also keeping a good distance from Yusei. Then she had waited. And waited. And waited. And waited some more. And as if waiting wasn't bad enough already, her stupid pride was preventing her from letting the others in the know before she and Luna had a solution to the problem.

Normally, this would have been called 'common sense'. But common sense was keeping a subtle secret for a few hours. 'Overbearing pride' was resorting to squatting atop chilly rooftops in an effort to avoid anybody finding out. 'Stupidity' was forgetting to bring a thick jacket and letting her body temperature slowly grow colder than her sense of humour as the sun once again dipped below the rim of the horizon. Added to a peculiar feeling of being watched that increased as the light ebbed away, she was becoming increasingly irate.

Three hours of patient waiting – and several impatient ones – later, a flash of light finally announced the return of Luna. "That bad?" Luna would have been back far faster if it had been easily solved.

"That bad." As much as Luna was the good girl of the group, she knew exactly how rough Musume would sometimes slump. With so much going on, she had done the only thing that she knew Musume would want to do. "Here." Reaching out a hand, a shimmering claw wrapped around the glass. Even hours after first loosening her control, she still hadn't regained enough inner balance to shut them away again.

"Vodka?" The writing on the bottle was in a dialect that she couldn't read. Each time she went out into the world, another new language made her regret not learning more.

"Scandinavian 'Balkan'." Barely a bubble had been dented into the bottle. "For the really bad days." Instead of waiting for permission, Musume slugged a generous mouthful. It would be the one time she deferred to Luna in anything socially frowned upon.

"It's roughly ninety-percent." Drawing out two glassed no bigger than thimbles from her pocket, Luna poured two tiny slivers of glistening liquid into them as Musume choked and spluttered from the arrogant draught. "Try not to drink too much of it. People tend to die." Utter numbness growing behind her ears indicated that the alcohol was already far ahead of the warning.

"So then," Trying vainly to ignore the burning in her throat, Musume avoided looking at the pitying eyes of her friend. "What's the verdict?" Even as she spoke, the blazing numbness was burned from her skull and left craving for another drink to replace it.

"It's not you." Draining her own glass, Luna tried her hardest to not hurt her friend as much as the news had hurt her. "Have you ever heard of the Neo-Spacians?" In her third-hand stories growing up, the Neo-Spacians were possibly the dullest anecdote but Musume had heard of them. If they were involved, it was not good. "Ancient Fairy Dragon contacted them after you performed an Accel Synchro. She was concerned that you were growing too powerful. The Neo-Spacians, they don't like people like you." If you listened carefully, you could have heard the sound of Musume's heart breaking as logic crushed it under a stone-cold heel. "After what happened in Paris, they decided to take action. They're blocking you from the Spirit World as long as you still carry Crimson Nova." Risking life and limb, Musume actively chugged from the bottle. She was better prepared this time but not enough that she didn't have an excuse for the pressure starting to build behind each eye.

"Well, that sucks." It was a heavy blow. Her only sanctuary as a child had been the Spirit World. Being cut off from it was like losing an arm and both legs. "Did you mention that I was dying?" Dragging back the bottle, Luna placed it out of reach before the prognosis could become imminent.

"That's one of the reasons they decided to block your crossings. Mortality isn't an issue for you. It makes you even more dangerous in their eyes." Turning around again, Musume finally chalked her unsettling feeling to otherworldly spectators. She might as well get used to the feeling.

"Smart people." A longing look at the bottle was quelled by pressure from that invisible onlooker. "Come on, let's get going." Although deeply angry, Musume wasn't quite ready to throw down the proverbial gauntlet and try to take them on. Instead, she fumbled her way back to her feet.

"Where exactly are we?" It slowly occurred to Luna that she did not quite know where they had ended up.

"Couple of miles from Poppo Time." Reporters still flooded the streets, unaware that their prey had already been released. She had seen a few running about here and there. "Maybe half an hour to walk back." Tightening the front of her ruined outfit, Musume pointedly flared both wings through the tears in the fabric. "Could fly back in two minutes." If the creatures lurking in her belly were going to keep her rooted in one world, she was going to get her worth out of them.

"Walking sounds good." Drunk driving was an illegal act but drunk flying was probably a new one for the New Domino police department. "Balkan vodka is strong stuff. We should probably walk it off slightly." Behind her eyes lay horror at the thought of moving at vast speeds over the city with only a pair of arms between herself and a messy puddle.

"Good idea." Capping off the bottle, Musume resisted the urge to chug extra as she set it aside. "How do you plan to get off the roof?" Having an aerial view to pick her vantage point had stopped her from initially realising that the fire door only opened from the inside. It was a sound security feature that stopped people from entering through the roof but now the pair were locked twenty floors up.

"Fine." Closing her jumper up tight enough to shame a boa constrictor, Luna slowly approached the open arm Musume was holding out. "Just take it slow." Taking her Luna under her wing, Musume gently lifted the pair from the roof in an unsteady hover.

"Remember the last time we did this?" It had been different back then. Musume the villain and Luna the brave little warrior holding her off. "No wings." They had also been considerably higher up and in freefall. Some careful prodding had kept her own abilities secret by forcing Luna to ferry them both to the Spirit World.

"Just get us down safely." Many people had dreamed of flying but Luna had never met anyone who wanted to be the passenger of a drunken flier.

"Don't you trust me?" Glancing at Luna's tightly closed eyes confirmed that trust did not extend as far as their little flying jaunt. "Okay, okay." Dropping down a bit faster than was necessary, Musume pulled to a halt a few feet above the ground. "We're down." It was funny how quickly Luna stepped away from Musume. Jumping between dimensions was no difficulty to Luna but breezing down the short distance of a building was somehow terrifying to her.

Once they had started making progress back to Poppo Time, Luna felt it safe enough to expand a bit more on the touchy subject. "I did manage to get them to agree not to make it permanent. Once everything's over, you'll be allowed to go back." Even getting that much agreed to had taken the majority of her day. It hadn't exactly been a face-to-face meeting. Everything turn in the conversation had been relayed through several Duel Spirits with the Neo-Spacians not even showing themselves directly. If Ancient Fairy Dragon hadn't been personally vouching for them, Luna would have told Musume to force her way over and make them face her directly

"Okay. At least that's something to look forward to." She really didn't have the heart to explain to Luna that there wasn't a 'later' planned. "How is everything over there? Still as dull as ever?" Enjoying the peace and serenity of the Spirit World was a rare gift that she had squandered. Now that she couldn't see it for herself, Musume almost missed it. But such a quiet place had never really been her style.

"Oh, it's wonderful. Their seasons don't change as fast as ours and," For a few minutes, Musume tolerated a gushing explanation about how the shades of the leaves matched with the sparkling of rivers and something about colour schemes. Anyone else would have been given a sharp retort and told to shut up but even she couldn't bring herself to be angry at Luna.

"Hang on a second." With another night closing in and thinning the crowds, they had been alone in the street. But senses were tingling that they weren't alone. Even the voice in her head was agreeing that thing was amiss. "Does something seem off to you?"

Even when she later took into account what he had done next, Musume still found the strangest part of the man's sudden appearance that he had literally jumped out at them. Not rushed out of hiding or run across the street or even lurked up from behind a dumpster. No, he had jumped out of hiding with both feet leaving the ground.

"It was only a matter of time until you showed up. I was told you liked to keep close." Strange men showing up out of nowhere seemed to be a running theme lately. She had half expected it to be Obake out for vengeance over his wounded pride. Her guess couldn't have been further from the truth.

"Hey, arsehole." Maybe the Neo-Spacians had been right. Maybe she was dangerous. But anyone would have assumed that when one hand became a glowing fist and the other was encased in the shining outline of talons. "A fucking _bomb_ didn't work. What genius plan did you have in mind next?" There was no doubt in her mind that this moron belonged to Yliaster.

"Yeah, we figured that you might survive." A mass-produced Duel Disk clattered to the ground in front of her. "Pick it up." The implication was clear. Luckily, Luna was quick to find a way out.

"Are you stupid?" Terrified by the situation, she was still brave enough to speak up. "She hasn't been home since the boat and I don't carry my Deck everywhere. Neither of us can Duel." It was certainly an easy way to avoid the imminent catastrophe.

"Luna." Holding out a warning hand, Musume really wished her family would stop tempting fate. "Now would be a really good time to stop talking." Some of the cards that she owned weren't exactly safe for normal hands and they never strayed far from her own. All the conditions had been met. Two Duellists, two Decks, two sacrifices. One inescapable declaration.

Inside an instant, the circle of cold flames appeared and ringed the pair, cutting off the pair from all avenues of escape. "Let the Shadow Duel," A smiled filled with evil and steeped in darkness set Musume's blood racing and filled Luna's with dread. "Begi," Only a fraction of a syllable from starting the most dangerous Duel in the world, something distracted the Agent. Flying through the air, came a blackness set against the stars. As it hit the invisible dome, it hung for a moment before the barrier relented and let it pass. Had normal physics been involved, the momentary lull would have reduced speed but the outline was catapulted through a series of rolls that ended with two arms spread out in a protective barrier between the two Signers and the Agent.

* * *

" _Sayay._ " It was possibly the first time in history that something like this had happened. There was not supposed to be any way to invade a Dark Duel once it had been invoked. Joining, observing up close and even changing participants had happened but never an outright intrusion. " _Chaway._ " A metallic buzz harshed the words as the top of the shadow elongated and then flattened again. It took a moment before they all realised that the figure had turned its head to look at Musume and Luna as it rose to both feet.

"Who's side are they on?" Luna tried desperately to peer into the mass of darkness and identify the figure.

"I don't think they're _against_ us." As their eyes began to adjust to the endless depths of the shadows, Musume could see the sheath of a short sword strapped to the nearest side of the figure. Despite Yusei's clear wishes that she not carry weapons around the city, Musume pulled a serrated knife from down the side of her left boot, briefly testing the weight and balance. "Who are they?" One hand clamped firmly on Luna's shoulder as she was carefully moved to the back of the crowd.

"I thought that you might know." Musume half turned her head to give Luna a rare smile.

"One time. I take over a major criminal faction _one time_ and you assume that I know every creep in the world." What she did know was the sound of somebody drawing a weapon which was coming from the darkness in front of them.

"Who are you?" Nervousness was radiating from the Yliaster agent. Whatever else he had prepared for – Musume interceding or Luna jumping to the Spirit World – the appearance of an unexpected third party was throwing him off his game. "Back off, this doesn't concern you." The figure crouched low in front of the pair, spewing out words in a mechanical tone faster than Luna had ever heard. The Yliaster Agent paused, unsure of the intrusion.

"What's it mean?" Luna shifted slowly backwards as the foreign language continued to flow.

"Er..." Musume was able to understand a few words but couldn't quite understand the whole message at the speed it was being recited. "Something about," She noticed the Agent listening in almost too late. "That is," She leant closer to Luna. "About a challenge but the same stakes. I think." Something in her tone made Luna curious.

"What language are they speaking?" Musume could sense the look penetrating her face as she slowly replied.

"An old Quechua dialect. One used by past Signers." Whoever was speaking had stopped by this point. "I didn't think that it was still spoken by anyone." There was something that Musume had kept to herself. The dialect which this intruder was using had been handed down from one generation to the next until it had been crushed by Spanish invaders. It was should have been a dead language in all sense of the word. Hearing it here and now was a chill to her soul. And not just hers.

The figure was snarling words at this point, sheathing the sword back in place on the small of their back. Musume listened as their saviour rolled out another line in Quechua and withdrew something from up a non-existent sleeve. An item flew across the intervening space and the Agent instinctively caught it in one hand. " _Pukllay_."

In her head, that screaming voice whispered it in a way that Musume could understand. _Game_. The ring of shadows darkened around the group, a trio of coins floating before the newcomer and another set in front of the Agent.

"What is this?" The Agent seemed frightened, unsure of what to do. "What's going on?" One dark limb mimed tossing a coin and watching it land.

" _Akllay_." Once more, the translation just popped into her mind. _Choose._ Another mimed toss, this time with a stamped foot to indicate a loss. Musume instantly realised what they meant.

"They each call the results of their coins and whoever gets the most wrong loses." There had to be something else though. Something the intruder was keeping quiet on. Anybody wily enough to intrude on a Shadow Game would leave nothing to chance. Outright cheating was impossible but there were any number of ways to have an edge.

"Who goes first?" Musume noticed how the Agent seemed ill at ease when his opponent pointed at him to take the first turn. "Heads." The Agent plucked and tossed the first coin in a single motion, the nervous grin showing his first victory. "Tails." The smile grew. "Tails." Their saviour seemed unconcerned at the Agent's delight. Despite losing on the last coin toss, the Agent held the upper hand. Chance favoured their substitute losing at least one toss and having another round. If they lost two tosses, the Agent would win outright. "Go on, your turn." One coin was carefully picked up and examined it closely. "Yes, that's right. Now toss it!" The other player tilted their head to express apparent confusion as the coin revolved around one hand a few times.

Outlines shifted and flowed as the figure crouched down and looked up at their opponent. Musume watched as a coin was gently on the ground, the Shadows staying at bay. "I thought that they had to toss it?" Luna whispered to her friend.

"No." The meaning of the rules finally became clear to Musume. "They both have to _call_ which side of the coin will show. Throwing the coin was never mentioned." The Agent seemed to realise this when the second coin was pressed to the floor. Inside her head, that screaming voice started to cackle in vengeful glee.

One hand reached up to the last coin and paused in pity for the panicking agent. Reaching down, a tiny whisper of noise sounded as the hand brushed against the thin layer of dirt in the alley. Standing proudly on the endless circumference, that last move added insult to permanent injury as the coin was left standing on the edge.

"No, you _cheated_." Seeing the boundary of the Shadow Game close in, the Agent screamed in anger and fear. "You **cheated**!" Shadows were quick to take their toll, leaving behind only the Agent's Deck.

For a moment, Luna thought she noticed sadness in their rescuer's posture. They carefully pried the Agent's Deck from the abandoned Duel Disk and shuffled through until they reached one card in particular. Pulling it out, every detail was committed to memory in the tiny fragment of time available. Almost too soon, a hidden trigger was reached and they watched as it dissolved between their fingers.

"Who are you?" The figure turned slightly to look at the pair and make sure they were still alright. Though her ordinary knife would be far less deadly than the failed Dark Duel, Musume pulled it anyway and fully blocked this unknown from a questioning Luna. "Why are you helping us?" That enquiry seemed enough to pause the figure for a moment. Then they were gone, bounding up the side of a building with clambering grips across the edges of a fire escape.

"Luna, run back to Poppo Time and tell Akiza everything." Musume was speaking almost as quickly as the recently departed had been when they had taken Luna's place. "I'm going after them." Musume channelled a mass of energy to her legs, shattering the stones with her leap as she jumped to the rooftops in time to see an outline slip across to the next building.

* * *

Her prey led a merry chase across the skyline, almost managing to her lose her a few times. Whatever was keeping her target dark made it almost impossible to see them whenever they stopped moving across the rooftops. Then something slipped against a rooftop and smashing metal sounded in the narrow gap between two apartment buildings.

Rushing to the edge of the building, it was just about possible to see the lid on an apartment dumpster on the other side of the alley rocked closed by the impact of something heavy. Before it could open again, Musume dropped from the building above and slammed down atop the lid. "Gotcha." She flipped open the lid to the unpleasant surprise of a worn cinder block that had been dropped from high enough to dent the underside of the dumpster. Looking up, she had the faintest notion of a head recede from the side of the building above her. Wasting no time – well, not enough to matter – on picking out a mutter choice of insult, she spread both wings and soared back up above the building again.

It was slightly easier to see the dark outline moving across rooftops beneath the enraged crimson haze that came with being played. They were incredibly fast but not inhumanly so. Few people kept in good enough shape to move like that. But only one of the pair had wings. Instinctively arching them into a tight curl, she shot across the distance between them.

Whatever speed the fleeing figure had was augmented by their incredible reaction speeds. When Musume was ten feet away, they were still running away. When she was eight feet away, the left arm moved just higher than it had before. When the gap had narrowed to four feet, the leading leg suddenly embedded against a layer of brick almost hidden beneath the gravel. Throwing itself to the right, the trailing elbow plummeted down to knock Musume another few inches than she had aimed for. Pebbles scratched at her skin and embedded themselves into folds of her clothes as she was redirected towards the floor at a faster angle than she had intended. Forcing herself upright, she saw her prey was still on the roof with her.

"Who are you?" They hadn't even looked around to check the distance for the strike. Nothing normal could do that. " _What_ are you?" A tiny tilt of that head indicated that she was being examined. "Nobody is meant to be able to break into a Shadow Duel." Whatever she was talking to was listening but there was no telling for how long. "Are you working for Yliaster? Did a faction send you?" It was clearly the wrong answer as the figure turned to leave. "Wait." Reaching a flat sprint in just three steps, it was enough to send the figure sailing across to the next building with ease. "I said, _wait!_ " Flaring her wings once again put Musume hovering just ahead of the figure as it landed on the next building in another difficult – yet not impossible – jump.

It stopped itself just a few feet away, just as helpless to escape as she had been to evade the Shadow Duel. A metallic grinding sounded as it pulled the tiny blade it had kept strapped behind it. Gesturing off to the side, it was evident they didn't want to fight unless Musume refused to move. "No." Setting down to the ground, she kept both wings outstretched in an unmistakable display of dominance. "You helped us once but that doesn't mean you're on our side." That short blade was being held in a backwards grip. No stabbing moves but a professional grip. Defensive but reactive. "It's too dangerous to let you run around until we know more about you." None of the others would have made such a decisive course of action. Maybe they wouldn't have been in that situation if they had.

Chill steam was rising from the darkness, making it at once easier and more difficult to see. Another tiny gesture let her know it was time to move but Musume stayed where she was. Clouds of mist were starting to close off any direct view but she could see no movement inside the fog. It wasn't too late to simply let it go without a fight. But she had already lost too much to risk a new player upsetting the game at this late stage. So she darted forward into the outline as it moved to meet her.

There was no titanic explosion of meeting forces. One had a sword, one hand a glowing fist of shimmering purple. Musume had moved in with a powerful strike only for her foe to roll forwards and duck beneath the blow to strike her in the stomach with the swords handle. Flaring both wings to send her backwards failed as the shadow darted out slightly, circling around at speeds she hadn't expected. It flowed smoothly and feinted with a slash only to open-palm her to the right shoulder. She couldn't risk taking flight and losing sight of her foe so Musume was practically forced to lunge for the retreating wrist only to drop it with a startled curse.

It burned not with heat but with unexpected cold. "What are you?" They paused in their fight, circling each other across the roof. "Why are you involved?" There was no answer, save the calm raising of weapons once again to indicate it was ready for another bout. "Fine." Loosening that tight restraint risked her losing control as the powers of both spirits surge to the surface for a moment. "I'll beat it out of you." With flaring wings, glowing limbs and burning eyes, she had never looked more resplendent. Solemnly raising the sword up to the mask, the shadow waited in anticipation of the next attack. Then it struck an instant faster.

She had only begun to tighten her arms to move forward when the figure started moving. There was enough distance for her to start moving but not enough to gain momentum and push back. Duck, dodge, swipe, deflect. Too fast to accurately take note, each blow one threw was almost perfectly countered by the other. Enough power was running through each of Musume's punches to crush a bus but sheer strength couldn't land a single blow against such speed. The shadow was ducking and weaving with incredible accuracy, dodging away from each strike an instant before it came but not daring to lash out in return. It was hoping to outlast her but those eyes just kept burning brighter as Musume was immersed in energies no human should enjoy. Too much of them could kill her but there was a danger here and that came first. She knew that, as did her target. So it made a reckless choice and lunged forward in the gap between one blow and the next.

Musume was angry. She was over being toyed with and constantly underestimated. It didn't matter that it was the handle hurtling towards her face. It actually just made the matter worse. Flashing up a hand, she caught the wrist by instinct and felt all the anger and helpless rage that had been building since Paris flow through her as the blade was plunged back towards the owner. For just a moment, she thought they would fight back or at least dodge to one side. Nobody else Musume had ever met could move quite like this person and it was impossible not to think that they might be able to slip aside.

There was a momentary twinge of automatic resistance in both arms. A sword coming straight for the chest would do that to anyone. It was possible to change the course of the blade to lessen or even completely avoid the damage. But the person locked inside the armour recognised regret starting to blossom in the shining golden eyes. It was too late for Musume to do anything about the attack she had already committed to. No matter how much she wished she could take it back.

Tightening the grip about the handle, the dark arm pulled the blade out of her grip and all the way down.

Musume backed away in silent terror, horrified at the fatal turn events had taken. The sword just hung where it was as the spare hand fell down to the black waist. Fumbling grips managed to undo the sheath and toss it towards Musume as the figure seemed to shudder with some internal struggle. Then a silent explosion of blue light enveloped the area and blinded her. When the darkness of night crept back in, only the fallen blade on the ground and matching sheath by her feet gave proof of any altercation.

Carefully picking up the sheath in her left hand and the sword in her right, Musume gently reunited the two parts. She knew that the figure had actively pulled the sword closer. Maybe it had been to take any secrets left to the grave, perhaps it was an overly-successful attempt to reclaim the weapon. By giving up the weapon, that silent intruder had managed to indicate that they possibly didn't Musume responsible for the final blow but had definitely charged her with taking care of the sword.

A faded inscription had been imprinted on the handle and she was able to read a name under the scattered light of a thousand bulbs in the city around her. It meant nothing to her right then but the innocuous inscription had the power to crack open a view that could change Musume's world forever. For now, she could only clutch the weapon tightly to her chest as she flew back towards Poppo Time.

* * *

New Domino City had long possessed a string of warehouses a short distance from the docks. After Zero Reverse had torn open the land and flooded the city, the stocks inside had been claimed by the city to help with the rebuilding. Companies involved had been given significant tax breaks in the future which had only helped revitalise the economy. These warehouses constantly stood brimming with products and containers, surrounded by security systems and armed guards. It was difficult to get in but not impossible – especially if the chain links could just be torn aside with one hand.

Whatever had happened to that dark figure had severely affected it. Steps had given way to stumbles, the finer points of coordination were completely absent and there was an air of panic about the shadow as it continued to collapse drunkenly down the gap between warehouses D-7 and D-8. One attempt to stand upright resulted in the outline collapsing against an already overflowing waste bin.

Right up until that moment, all security systems had failed to detect any sort of intrusion. No motion sensors had gone off, no cameras had spotted them. Only when the rubbish had spilled from the open-top bin did the rolling barrel sweep through the range of a motion-sensitive light and broke the darkness open.

Guards were meant to patrol in pairs but sometimes the partners didn't always get along and kept a short distance from each other. Not much, maybe a warehouse or two. Close enough to run for help but far away enough to cool off for the evening. It meant that Diego was closer to the scene than his partner.

Diego was an oddity in Japan. One parent had come from Spain, the other from South Africa. Both had settled in Japan shortly before he was born but that didn't stop some people from ostracising him based on his mixed foreign heritage. It would leave most people with a sour disposition yet Diego had somehow managed to keep a positive outlook on life. So when he was first to approach a flailing figure, Diego's first instinct was to see how best he could help.

"Are you okay?" Occasionally, a homeless person would break into the yard. Guards were meant to call the police but often ended up throwing them out personally or inviting them in for a cup of something warm and a solid meal. It was luck of the draw as to who was on duty and would be nice. Diego was always nice to people. "You look like you could do with a hand." When he finally noticed the way the shadows seemed to cling to this person instead of staying on the edges of the buildings, Diego still didn't reach for his baton. Most companies were too cheap to spring for anything close to the police standard Shock Batons and supplied their guards with analogue equivalents. He had never found it necessary to use his.

Each word was like a sledgehammer to the figure but overwhelmed by a calming wave of compassion that practically drowned the narrow gap. It was sensory overload as Diego approached with footsteps of thunder. "Come on, we've got some coffee back at the shed. We can get you back on your feet and,"

It couldn't have taken that long for Diego's partner to arrive. Maybe a minute at most. But when they finally arrived, Diego had been knocked clear of the alley by a blow that had shattered three of his ribs and earned him permanent medical pay. Diego was a fighter though, he managed to stay awake through a blow that would have probably killed weaker people. It was with through a mouthful of blood that he was able to reach his phone and dial the police. "There's an intruder at the docks." That overwhelming compassion of his kept Diego from calling his attacker anything crude. "Send the police and an ambulance." Endearing himself to his attacker with grace under fire – which was a strange way for most assailants to feel about their victims – Diego finally passed out.

Details varied slightly about what happened next. One story involved Diego's partner picking him up, fighting past the dark attacker and performing triage on the man when he began haemorrhaging only to hand him over to the arriving ambulance and leading the fight with the two patrol cars that showed up. Another version had him abandon Diego on the ground and run. Since nobody remembered his name, it was fairly clear which was more likely to be true.

A patrol happened to be in the area. Two officers arrived six minutes after Diego's call. Docks are always a likely target for everything from smuggling to drug trafficking and the police like to keep a car nearby whenever they could. Security wasn't paid enough to actually verify why the police were there and just let them straight in. Luck was with Diego that night. Officer Saito had taken a medical course just a few days before and was able to render aid while her partner went after the figure clutching at their head and writhing through the trash.

One major difference between police officers and security guards is the authority behind them. What had happened to Diego without witnesses had been severe enough to bring in the police. When Saito saw what happened to Officer Hayashi, it gave her enough authority to bring in two extra patrol cars. After that, everything just snowballed.

* * *

 ** _I would have posted more but the clock says the time is [peers at display] blurry? Look forward to more chapters later/tomorrow and I'll look forward to your reviews._**


	47. First Impressions

By the time that Musume arrived at Poppo Time, Akiza had already summoned back the pair of amateur detectives from Trudge's side. With two days of wear, a near-death experience, a couple of holes in the back and no chance of being salvaged, she was severely in need of an outfit to replace her ruined dress. Once she had managed to steal one of Crow's spare jackets and liberated a pair of trousers from Akiza, not only had they arrived but Leo had raced across the city at the first mention of his sister being in trouble. They had clustered together in the main room, almost waiting in ambush once she came back out of the bathroom. Other than a filthy look at Yusei for not wearing a shirt, she barely registered their presence.

"What were you thinking?!" Crow was taking point when it came to Musume and was just barely keeping his anger in check. Instead of stopping to listen to his quite reasonable complaint, she ignored him and walked right on past and down the stairs to the garage. "If Yliaster comes at any of us, we act together. We don't run off alone!" Struggling to believe that she would just ignore the threat that had almost taken two of them, he watched as she threw herself into one of the seats in the corner. Booting up the computer, she sullenly began tapping at keys before everything was fully started.

"I thought Luna would have explained." Still clutched tightly in one hand was that strange sword from the rooftop. She hadn't let it out of her sight for even a minute. "Yliaster attacked, somebody else got involved." It should have never been this complicated. Come back in time, nudge her family down another path, drag Red Nova and the Crimson Dragon to her grave. "They somehow managed to break into a Dark Duel and then changed it into a Shadow Game." Trying to trawl through the mess of the internet was taking longer than she was comfortable with. Answers tended to be needed in a hurry once people started blowing up. "After which they ran across several rooftops, punched me out of the sky and exploded after stabbing themselves through the chest." It was shame that kept her from admitting she had made the first lethal move. "Exactly what could the rest of you had done?"

Maybe Crow was saying something in the background but she was ignoring him. In the world of information searches, the first hit was rarely the best one but it held the essential details. Impossible details. She ignored it and went after the second result. Same details, same impossibility. Third, seventh, twentieth. Skipping through the results like a binge-watcher trying to find their most recent episode, she failed to find anything that could have accounted for what she was holding.

"Hey!" Grabbing her shoulder to gain attention, he shouldn't have been surprised when a deft hold twisted his arm until he bent into submission. It was one of his favourite holds. Of course he would have taught it to her.

"What does this say to you?" Stamped onto the butt of the handle were a few letters in an old dialect. Not so far gone that he couldn't read it but not one that had been popular since before even his grandparents had been alive.

"Yawa... Yawarakai-Te? Tender Hands?" Letting go now that she had confirmation of her insane reality held in one hand, she swivelled around to look back at him. In all their time together, he had never seen her scared. Then again, what was on her face wasn't exactly fear. There were twinges of confusion in there. Like if Leo ran at her with a javelin. Dangerous but not easily grasped. "What is it?" With Crow losing his concentration, Jack readily stepped up to take the position of 'reprimanding Musume'. Unfortunately, he lacked the same relationship, level of understanding or even empathy. Like a series of events elsewhere in the city, things quickly snowballed.

* * *

There came times when Trudge genuinely wondered how anybody managed to maintain any sort relationship with Yusei Fudo. With barely a minute's notice, he had run off to America and left a large number of bureaucratical and international nightmares that Trduge was taking the flack for. As his geographically closest friend, there was a powerful telepathic connection between the pair that allowed him to know Yusei's every move in advance. At least, that was the conclusion that everyone seemed to have. Yet for all the drawbacks, the good scientist always had one use when it came to Trudge: the perfect supernatural scapegoat. Whenever something weird and inexplicable came up, Yusei was called in to sort out the mess. But sometimes, the timing was important than the actual call.

Whistling happily to himself, Trudge absently played around on his phone as wave after wave of highly trained police officers threw themselves at the resistant suspect. One of the earliest fighters slowly dragged themselves past his foot and collapsed in a small pile. "Aren't you going to help?" Peering down at the crumpled figure, Trudge gave his smuggest smile.

"I thought that 'interfering old farts' like me should 'just give up and die'," Many of the younger generations thought that Trudge was past his prime and beyond the metaphorical hill. Despite his greying hairs and tired gaze, his senses were still as sharp as they had ever been. They had helped him keep track of the various gossip around the watercoolers and none of it good. Karma being what it is, Trudge was willing to let a few of the more vocal officers take a pounding before calling in his expert. "What was it you said? 'It's time to let the new generation have their chance'? This is your chance. Have at it." Another uniform was sent flying, skidding and bumping along the ground to cause some serious friction burns.

"What was the number again?" Carefully sliding his thumb down the screen, Trudge went through his list of contacts one number at a time. "Was it a five or a nine?" Measuring his steps, the grizzled prankster moved just far enough to avoid getting hit by the next flying body in the constantly increasing scrum. It almost appeared that every police officer in New Domino was joining in on the fight. "What am I saying? It's a _three_." Number finally acquired, he pressed the device to his ear with a broad grin.

" _Trudge, now really isn't a good time._ " Raised voices in the background indicated that Yusei was having the domestic version of the same situation Trudge was currently enjoying from afar. " _Drop him!_ " There was the sound of colliding bodies on the far end of the phone.

"There's a lot of that going around. I'm currently over in the warehouse district and there's something here that's your area of expertise." Screeching metal and panicking screams provided a distinct soundtrack to his point. He wouldn't normally have called Yusei so soon after the incident on the boat but had to balance his limited recovery against the danger present before him.

" _Warehouse district?_ " It is said that veteran police officers subconsciously learn to sense the intricate details of the universe, commonly referred to as 'gut instinct'. So despite science saying otherwise, Trudge could actually hear the accusing stares coming from the other end of the line. " _I'll be there in twenty minutes._ " Just before the line could close, there were the sounds of a muffled thump and an entire car sailed through the air before Trudge.

"Can you be here any sooner?" As every able-bodied officer in the city converged on the brawl, the less civilised parts of his mind saw an answer to their problem. Under his previous commanders, the mere mention of such an idea would have put him on report for many weeks. Of course, there were perks to his high position.

Eighteen minutes later, Yusei – now wearing a loose dress shirt – was let through the police cordon. Several squad cars had been positioned around the heavy warehouse and the more seriously wounded had been taken to find medical treatment. A passing thought went to Akiza. As much as she and the others had wanted to come, Yusei had refused on the astronomically long shot that this was not the same figure that Luna and Musume had encountered. If it was, he didn't want them anywhere near the new danger.

"Hey, Yusei!" Slightly oily but still none the worse for wear, Trudge had seated himself on a substantial wooden crate that had tumbled from the building. One hand was pressed tightly against his ribs and he winced as he shifted. "About time you got here." Rolling up his shirt revealed a deep purple bruise that faded as he poked at it.

"What's going on? Have your officers caught them yet?" Unsurprisingly, Trudge had looked up all the ways he could arrest Yusei at a moments notice. Dating back several generations – and possibly no longer still legally binding – was a tiny law that forbade being intentionally insulting to a policeman. Despite ruling out half the force on sex lines, it still gave him the power to fine Yusei the price of a cup of coffee.

"Nah, I ended up driving a forklift into them." On the way to meet his friend, Yusei had noticed a jagged hole in the side of the warehouse below. Although he had attributed it to their quarry, it was just as surprising that Trudge would do such damage as a person could hold off the entire police force alone. "Things settled down after that. Most of the guys moved out of my way. Your buddy is currently sitting under the contents on an entire storage warehouse. A few boxes move now and then so nobody's died but..." Careful to wipe the grease and grime from his hands, Trudge ran a hand back through his hair and stared up into the smog-laden skies above. "I saw what those Dark Signers could do, got some footage of Jakob stopping a meteor with his bare hands. Whatever you've got in there, it's somewhere between the two." When Yusei didn't respond, Trudge turned his head back down to find him obliviously typing away into his phone. "Hey, were you even listening to a word I said?"

Tapping 'send' and slipping his phone back into his pocket, Yusei tried his best to look alert. "Warehouse. You definitely talked about a warehouse."

There was enough history between the two for Trudge to know when Yusei was playing with him. Back when they had first met, it would be overly polite and beguiling and now it was near-constant. "Funny, I distinctly remember that you agreed to go in first." Sliding down from his perch, the cop suppressed the twinge of pain that came from his right ankle. Much like the scar on his face, it was a remnant of the journey through a waste-disposal line that Yusei had sent him on. At the time, the break had healed swiftly but minor aches had started to spring up in recent months.

Taking control of the situation, Trudge put his dear old friend-turned-target ahead of him as a human shield. One round with the being inside the warehouse was enough for his lifetime and it would be unfair to stop his long-time tormentor from enjoying the same unforgettable experience. "Hey, you!" Despite a long list of underlings, Trudge had made it a personal point of pride to learn as many names as he could – all of them. Of course, it would have damaged his 'tough guy' act if anybody found out so he purposefully got them wrong whenever possible. "I want everybody moved back at least two blocks more. If there's another scuffle, everybody needs time to get a head start." Under normal circumstances, this would have been viewed as cowardice. Of course, normal circumstances did not have one person holding off half the New Domino Police Department by themselves. No comment was passed as the remaining officers slowly shuffled backwards by another few warehouse lengths. Only slightly unnerved by the retreat of the protective barrier, Yusei slowly entered the building.

It appeared that the titanic warehouse was currently being used for the storage of additional stock from various companies. Areas were segmented by lengthy metal fences and the stacks soared to the ceiling to maximise the available space. It was into this place of utter order that Trudge had happily driven a forklift, crushing several expensive pieces of equipment and doubtless racking up a terrifyingly large bill for the city to pay. "I think you missed a shelf." Scattered crates and broken electronics shifted slightly as something far beneath them stirred.

"Gimme a break, I was trying not to run over my people." Errant thoughts of tossing one of the numerous glass vases into the mix were quelled by the more logical notion of fingerprints. A handy pair of work gloves that had been left lying about proved to be the perfect instrument as he lobbed a cherry-pink flute towards the centre of the mess. Wicked eyes watched as it arced through the air.

"Do you think we could get any leads from the security cameras?" Yusei kept his voice in the more polite registers but struggled not to burst into laughter as his companion began checking for the tiny boxes dotted about the surrounding gloom. "Or are they only kept outside?" Breaking into relieved chuckles, Trudge shoved his friend off-stride slightly.

"That's a sick sense of humour you've got there." Barely after he had finished speaking, the hackles of his senses rose to full prominence. Beside him, Yusei also picked up on the error in the world. "Something's wrong." Careful not to make any sudden moves, each tried to subtly uncover the problem be the other. Inevitably, Yusei saw it first.

"Vase." It was enough to use one word. Standing proudly atop the heap of broken merchandise and shattered crates, the salmon glass that Trudge had lobbed so carelessly rose above the rubbish without even a single crack running through it. Lifting aside a curtain of chain links, the pair slowly approached the latest impossibility with care.

"Let's make one thing clear: I will leave you to your death at the first opportunity." After carefully stepping on one another's toes, the two managed to get close enough to see the fingers gently touching the underside of the delicate glassware. It was a tentative and careful caress. Both men were almost embarrassed at the sight. If one hadn't been a scientist and the other a police officer they would have possibly left. "Dr Fudo?" Taking the advantage before his friend, Trudge actively closed his eyes and gripped the shoulder of his enabling companion.

"Officer Trudge." Grabbing the hand, Yusei squeezed a pressure point until Trudge gasped and opened his eyes, turning the tables in a flash. "Is it still going on?" Doing a quick kidney jab, Trudge smartly stepped away from the other body. Instead of an answer either could have expected, the piles of ruined merchandise shifted abruptly.

"Careful." Both men instantly shifted lower in preparation of a fight but nothing else came. "What was that?" A startling idea sparked beneath the spiky hair.

"Punch me again." Ignoring the sideways glance, Yusei risked a lengthy prison sentence by kicking the stalwart shins of New Domino's finest. Nothing moved in the rubble until a retaliatory gesture resulted in Yusei collapsing to one knee. Then crates tumbled and fell, the vase shattering as something erupted from the mess and flew at them both. Enough distance separated them from the chaos to dive out of the way as whatever they were hunting barrelled past and destroyed another towering stack of expensive items and storage containers. When the scream of tortured metal and shattering merchandise faded again, Trudge had a torn pocket and Yusei was doing his best to remove the dust from his shirt sleeve that had been a gift from Martha.

"Can I punch you again?" Turning to see the piles of ruin on one side of the warehouse, Yusei saw something quite amazing – a still standing and unbroken vase.

"It came out when you punched me." Turning his back on 'it' – because nothing that fast could be entirely human – Yusei walked back to the glass jar and picked it up. "But not when I kicked you." In slums like the old Satellite, rocks became missiles and kids with good aim were snipers. Drawing his arm back, Yusei set his aim at the midst of the pile. This time, it fell and shattered.

"Whatever happened to fingerprints?" Still lost deep in the mess of his thoughts, Yusei punched Trudge sternly in the stomach. Other than the older man bending over in a wheeze, nothing else happened. No blurred shape from the midst of ruined items or diving for cover. Ignoring the gasping complaints of his grumbling companion, musing scientist pulled out a phone before sending a single line of text. "Have you ever known you were right but really hoped not to be?" Sliding his phone away, Yusei helped his friend back up to his feet.

"Yeah, when I knew you getting out of Satellite would cause trouble." A same hint of the trepidation pushing him away from the warehouse had compelled him to stop Yusei leaving the punishing wasteland of the Satellite. "Why?"

"Because I think history is about to repeat itself." Slowly walking back to the pile, Yusei stood with his shoes just brushing the growing pool of liquid coming from somewhere amid the mess. "You can come out now." Silence reigned as Trudge wondered exactly how far Yusei could push his unorthodox intellect without something vital breaking. "I know why you're here." Gentle tumblings came as something inside the pile shifted slightly. "It's okay." Each word was more tired than gentle but had plenty of both. Something was sucked into the pile and let loose a landslide.

"Care to fill in the rest of the class?" Ignoring the danger of getting too close again, Trudge was standing just a few inches behind Yusei.

"Punch me again – see what happens." Even as Trudge pulled back his arm, the deterioration of the pile completed and Yusei was forced to push him back with the flat of his hand. "Stop!" Standing before them both was the most unbelievable sight. With a fist close enough to dust his nose stood a figure almost as tall as Jack and with a noticeable presence to match. No noise came from the figure at all and it stood perfectly still. Light practically disappeared upon hitting it and gave the illusion of a living, moving shadow. By the time their eyes had adjusted to discerning curves of the outline, the tight arm had slowly lowered back to one side. "Just relax." As if his words had a contrasting meaning, the apparition dropped to a left knee, pressed both fists firmly against the floor and bowed. Not to both of them, not in an ironic sense but directly to Yusei himself with every inch bristling in obedience.

"Err..." It was far from any of the reactions either had been expecting. "Can you stop that?" Instead of a deadly figure intent on killing him, the person rising to stand before Yusei seemed to be swaying gently, peering up at him from every direction. Then a change spread over the dark armour and it turned, facing up at the shining ceiling with an aura of reverence.

"Hey, what's got your attention?" Trudge was hopelessly out of his depth now. It was one thing to pin it all on Yusei but curiosity kept him firmly rooted in place. Far above them, a skylight shattered as Musume plunged down to let her bloody wings slow her fall at the last possible moment, glass cascading about her as she hovered in the air. "Nope." Jabbing two fingers against his neck, Trudge frantically searched for his pulse. "I've died and gone somewhere bad. Sparky doesn't have wings." Carefully directing his strained friend towards a comfortably low crate, Yusei measured up the situation. Clutched in her right hand was the same sword that had stabbed her quarry once already that evening.

There had been many dangerous points in his life up until that minute. For many of them, Yusei had been sure of his own victory. As for the rest, failure usually equalled death and there was no sense in losing his temper. With Trudge noticeably shaken by the flying and shadowy figures, the same persons about to come to blows and Yusei helpless to stop them, he broke one of the few self-imposed rules that controlled his life and said a variety of words that would practically force Martha to disown him once the blood had finished being spilt. Thankfully, no blood was spilt.

Even as an impressive sweep of wings thrust her the last feet to her target, two feet thrust out. After seeing the insane reflexes from their last bout, she had expected the outline to simply dodge away from Trudge. (Yusei remaining in danger was not only acceptable but also preferred.) Instead, there was the paradoxically unexpected sensation of both feet making solid contact and smashing her target back into the mess.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Thankful for the existence of the heavy painkillers that were allowing him to temporarily move unimpeded, the suicidal burn victim stumbled between the equally confused and wary attacker and the pile of wreckage they had just smashed their victim back into. "They aren't trying to attack us. Try not to provoke them." A sudden thought intruded on his head. "Did _you_ start the fight earlier?"

"You're in _no_ position to judge me." With the nightmare of the boat still fresh in her mind, all blame lay with Yusei. "And what's _his_ problem?" Ignoring the pile of raw danger, tense standoff and impossible reality, Trudge had found a box to lean against and mutter to himself in peace.

"Nobody told him about Paris." Although Trudge had picked up on a change in Crow, he had put it down to the stresses of the recent trial and focus on helping with the boat investigation. If he had been told everything at once, his brain might have actually overheated. "Look, they don't appear violent. Let's just see if they're willing to come quietly and talk this out."

"One chance." If it turned out that there was a peaceful resolution, Musume would take it. For the novelty of the approach, if nothing else. If events turned violent, she wouldn't let a flashy light show distract her again. They had probably just used the blinding light to slip away. That must have been it.

Musume was aware that she wasn't doing the best job of convincing herself.

"Hey, you!" Utterly nailing the refined art of diplomacy, she crouched down to look at the fresh hole in the mound. "Get out here. I'm not in the mood to dig through that pile of shit to come get you." Giving a slightly bitter sigh, Yusei went over to stand beside Trudge. He had been spared in the last round of fighting. Hopefully, Yusei would be able to pick up on whatever tactic had saved him.

"How's it coming?" Still refusing to look directly at the transparent appendages, Trudge was looking at the gaping hole in the wall where he had driven the forklift through. It would be a difficult time to explain why he had asked a recently tried scientist to assist with an urgent police matter. Trying to explain why there was a winged felon shouting at a pile of merchandise that he was responsible for destroying would be much more complicated.

"We might be okay as long as she keeps her temper." Items rustled as a something in the mound began moving again. It was slower this time, using more careful movements as it continued to adjust to the situation. A hand slipped out against the floor, splayed fingers recognisable by their outline on the ground. Then an arm clenched and drew out the rest of the form, unfolding until it was outlined against the pile behind it. Just like before, it reached down until one balled fist pressed against the ground before taking a knee. "I told you earlier," Stepping out to stand over the figure he reached down with a hand. "You don't need to do that." Speaking in a soothing tone, he was anxious to avoid a repeat of the previous skirmishes.

"Get up." With the weapon in her hand and more prepared for a rematch, Musume didn't share his sentiment. "We're wasting time." Carefully expanding upright again, there was still no definitive depth to the figure. It was easy to imagine that it was just flat until you saw another equally indistinguishable side to disprove that idea. Every angle was erased by whatever that outfit was constructed from.

"It's not safe to stay here." Suppressing the urge to ask additional questions, Yusei focused on the only one that matter. "Are you willing to come with us?" A tiny flicker in the outline indicated a nod of assent. Jostling up and down, it appeared that the figure was bouncing on the balls of their feet. "Then we'll talk everything out back at my place." Continued muttering coming from the rocking policeman indicated that a few things needed sorting out first. "Correction: _I'll_ talk with Trudge, _you_ take our new friend back with you." Glaring her displeasure, Musume tried to ignore the only person ecstatically bouncing at the lack of a fight.

"Are we sure this is the same person? Couldn't I have stabbed another stalker who happens to wear black armour?" A raised eyebrow put the shockingly long odds to rest. People who Musume had stabbed was a disturbingly long list. Of course, overlapping that list with people who had been wearing impenetrable black armour which hid every feature left a small number indeed. "Fine – you talk to Trudge, I'll get the creepy one. But I still think this is a bad idea." Turning back to 'the creepy one' Musume held her recently received sword with a threatening air. "Let's get back to Poppo Time without causing another incident." History has recorded many poorly chosen words. Popular examples include 'how hard can it be', 'I'm fairly sure' and the always disastrous 'trust me'. Such a simple instruction had seemed innocent enough – just as they always did.

Moving with impossible grace and fluidity, the figure jumped. Straight up. Fifty feet straight up. Gifted with her wings, it had been a simple matter for Musume to enter and exit the building through the skylight. For anybody else to do the same was bordering on madness yet it had happened right before their eyes.

"Yusei?" As daggers were glared at the equally shocked figure, wings flared through the holes in Crow's now ruined jacket. "I told you so." Without waiting for a response, she fled back through the hole in the roof. By now, it was getting fairly substantial. As more glass joined the pile on the floor, Yusei sat in shocked silence beside his friend.

Several minutes passed before either move, spurred on only by the sound of a squad car pulling away outside. Wordlessly reaching to the small of his back, Trudge pulled out a small drinking flask. It was sturdy work, bereft of any fancy decorations and designed purely to hold the most efficient amount of alcohol in the smallest space available.

"Drink?" Without verbally answering, Yusei reached out and took a deep swig of the contents. Once the fire inside his throat had cooled down somewhat, the flask was handed back again. "Good, isn't it? Mina keeps trying to hide my stock but I've got a few guys who owe me some favours." Wiping off as much grime as his sleeve could manage, Trudge took his turn at the bottle that several of his underlings would swear they had never seen and about two dozen more would only vaguely recollect seeing in days gone by.

"When am I allowed to retire?" It wasn't something that he thought of often but it did take up full evenings when it did. "I've helped save the world three times. _Three_. Isn't it time for somebody else to take a turn?" All joking aside, some part of Yusei was becoming desperately tired of world-saving affairs. Once the Dark Signers had been put to rest, there should have been some sort of normality in his life. Yliaster had swiftly put such ideas to rest and then Paradox had almost annihilated history. With his friends, they had put an end to such threats.

"Give it thirty years." Possibly less interesting than the work Yusei did, Trudge was still one of the more veteran cops in the service. Despite being more mundane, the repetitive nature of his job had made it unbearably dull long before the Dark Signers had come along. Fighting Yusei had made it amusing for some time and the resulting promotions hadn't hurt any but it had slowly faded over eight years to a dull sheen. "Running around is a job for the young. Try letting Sparky take the reins some time. What's the worst she could do?" In the realms that border imagination and divinity, fate was confounded by impenetrable walls of poor choice and bad reasoning.

"Throw the entire world to the brink of eternal chaos for her own amusement?" There really was no proper response to such a statement. There was even less choice when the statement was historically accurate. "What's the bet that they cause havoc on the way back?" After a few seconds to think about the odds, Yusei and Trudge hurried off to find a vehicle to commender.

* * *

Despite all her instincts telling her otherwise, the logical part of Musume was forced to concede that her prey was good at going unnoticed. A passing car was evaded by simply flattening against the side of the road and perfectly blending in with the shadows. When traffic became heavier closer to the bright centre of the city, road became rooftop and invisibility became constant. It was only silhouettes against the lights from the streets beneath that told of anything moving about the tops of buildings. Flying high above, fears that she would be spotted did little to weigh on Musume's mind. With many rich partiers owning drones and few people in the habit of looking up, she was unlikely to be seen and anybody who did would assume her to be a foolishly decorated machine. What really concerned her was the route they were following – right towards Poppo Time. As they rapidly drew closer to the Signer residence, rooftops quickly dropped from multi-storey apartment buildings all the way down to normal houses. Eventually, Musume dropped down to where a bouncing figure was waiting in the alleyway beside the home.

"You're fast." Even though the wings that carried her were not there in the truly physical sense, her back was somehow sore from the speeds she had pushed to. "Come on, let's get inside before somebody sees us." Instead of the unpredictable bouncing she had been expecting, the figure spun away and hid behind the overflowing bins that never seemed to be emptied. "What are you doing?" Sinking back even further, it seemed fairly obvious what was happening. "Tell me you're not _shy_." Earlier that night, this person had barged into the middle of a Shadow Duel, turned it against the Yliaster Agent, checked on herself and Luna and then been stabbed through the chest for their troubles only to next be discovered in a one-fighter assault on the entire police department. Even in the scant information that Musume knew, this person being shy stood out as weird.

When Yusei finally returned fifteen minutes later – only slightly tipsy from the possibly illegal booze Trudge had shared with him – Musume was still trying to coax the hiding figure from behind the dumpster and everyone else was crowded around the doorway into the alley. Since there was no outward sign of violence, she had refrained from lashing out first. As much as she hated to admit it, Yusei possibly had a point when it came to her having started the earlier fight.

"Hey, Yusei," Leo was balancing on the tips of his toes to get a better view of the sedate action. "What's going on?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Standing beside Akiza, the slightest contact between their fingers indicated a welcome home as Yusei sized up the scene. His neighbours had long since lost the appeal for trying to spy in on his mundane private life but their dis-curiosity would only last so long in the current environment.

"Can't we just get inside?" Crow had more recent experience with the freaky parts of creation and was not keen for another experience. A cowering figure in pitch-dark armour gave several indicators that the fragile shell of normality was cracking.

"If they don't move," A thin vest was tight enough to show taunt muscles and make Jack's knuckle-cracking somewhat redundant. "I'll make them." Poor word choices seemed to be the theme of the evening. Rocking back and forth behind the dumpster, both arms had been tightly interlaced around the black helmet. At Jack's casual threat, the rocking stopped and Musume could feel the tiny hairs on the back of her neck prickle in a warning. With the force of a rogue locomotive, the two black palms came together in a blazing flash of cerulean light.

"What was that?" Being used to scientific mishaps – since the SRC wasn't technically allowed to call them 'explosions' – put Yusei straight back on the offensive. Other than the loss of his night-vision and the disappearance of their companion, nothing was amiss in the alleyway. At least, besides Musume possibly crushing the life from the group of Signers in her futile rescue attempt at knocking them all to the safety of the floor. Six skinned knees and a bruised behind would be moaned about for days to come as nothing destructive actually happened.

"Are they a Psychic?" Whilst not as sensitive as the women of the group, Crow's exposure to the Underworld had made him more open to the world around him. Something about the figure had felt different from the moment it had first appeared before him.

"No." Psychic Duellists might be able to sense other Psychic Duellists but whatever mumbo-jumbo Musume had knocking around inside her went far beyond that. "She's... different." Another explosion across the city turned their heads. Millions in property damage had suddenly come into existence as one of the signs on KaibaCorp tower exploded in a shower of glass and sparks. "And dangerous." Disregarding Yusei, she turned to Crow and Akiza. It was a tense moment. Neither was eager to send their once-daughter into the line of fire.

"Be safe." Of course, each knew and understood that inability to ignore strange new dangers and mysteries. Baring her teeth in a smile that would chill most grown men, Musume flared her wings to the widest extent possible. Flying was an impossibly rewarding exertion. She had done almost every workout exercise in the world but none had ever been anywhere near as satisfying as the ability to soar through the clouds. Even barrelling her way towards certain danger, she couldn't stop a feeling of elation as she passed over hundreds of people, buildings and vehicles.

* * *

Human nature being what it was, most eyes are drawn towards bright lights. Human biology, however, forces them away from loud noises and falling glass. Such situational blindness is aided by the partly-psychological, partly-biological inability to see the dark centre of a bright ring of lights. As it was, Musume was able to soar directly onto the treacherous roof without anybody being the wiser. Cameras rarely observed rooftops that high and interior security was just that – interior and rarely pointing outwards.

Finding her quarry proved less of a difficulty than she had expected. Those with the ability to travel large distances within mere moments were generally better at disguising themselves in the moments following their arrival. Ducking down convenient sidestreets, hiding under piers and cars. Usually not clinging to the edge of buildings with trembling limbs. Folding her wings back – but not all the way – she carefully approached the tangled outline. "Do you want to come away from there?" Her new sword rattled inside one boot. Even after flying the miles between her current residence and the tallest point in the city, it had remained utterly secure inside its new home as if not ready to leave.

Something about the nature of the invisible armour was preventing a secure grip and the figure was fighting for purchase on the top of the sign. Instead of an answer, her companion slipped a few inches and grappled to regain them as quickly as possible. A further scramble resulted in the figure actually falling into the sign itself. Leaning over, she struggled to keep her balance in the fast winds and slippery purchase. Slight ledges inside the sign were designed to help workers replace the bulbs when they blew and repaint the signs after storm damage. Grappling fingers had managed to grab two on the way down and snapped both. The crumpled outline had ended huddled in the far corner, one arm braced against the ledge they were cramped on and the other gripping at the end of a bulb above them.

Hearing a door slam open somewhere out on the roof, Musume did the only thing she could at short notice. Fastening one hand on the top of the sign, she swung inside and grappled for a foothold. Hearing shouts growing closer, she did the next best thing to finding a purchase. In the same manner as her predecessor, she fell through the air and grabbed at slats as they whizzed past. Luck preferred her to the dark-clad figure who had fallen first and she managed to hold onto a ledge that didn't snap beneath her fingers.

It would take the KaibaCorp employees at least ten minutes before they could harness up, secure themselves to the rooftop and begin the process of hoisting somebody down. In less than one, Musume was squatting on the treacherous conditions of the ledge. Whatever else the stranger was, they were utterly terrified and she was careful to remain at one end of the ledge.

"You can't stay up here forever." Probably disrespecting hundreds of years of tradition and work, she stabbed the blade from her boot at an angle into the wall and used it as a source of stability. "There isn't even a 'sooner or later' about it. People already saw your little stunt and are on the way." Even shouting above the wind, Musume could barely hear herself. There was little chance that anybody above would make any of their conversation. "If you don't come with us, the police will come again. Eventually, somebody will arrive who can actually take you down. Or you can come back with me." It was a fair offer but the form continued to huddle from the wind and shake in fear.

Even with her unique perspective on reality, Musume could see no reason why anybody would be so terrified. Reaching out to grab a wrist, she watched the figure huddle even further away and actually risk falling from the building. A Dark Duel had been breached without any display of anxiety. They had enough strength to traverse great distances with ease and had agreed to come willingly. So Musume couldn't understand why they would suddenly run and cower in a corner.

Realisation struck her in a terrible blow.

The figure cowering before her defended against the entire police department but waited quietly in the pile of broken merchandise when left alone. Tey had hidden outside Poppo Time in shyness but only fled when Jack threatened violence. Stuck on a roof, they were moving further away from what was being perceived as another attempt at bodily force. Hunkering down, Musume moved forward with the speed of an iceberg and the restrained impatience of a race driver stuck behind a pensioner.

"I know you're scared right now." A strong eddy almost threw them both down but Musume held fast. "But you don't have to be. My family and I have been through a lot and we can help you get through your troubles too." In her mind, that meant dumping the problem with Crow and letting him sort it out. The strategy had worked well enough in the past. "It's okay." Reaching out again, she moved with that same glacial slowness. "You can trust me." The proffered hand was stared at for a long minute before one gauntlet slowly rose from the damp precipice.

In future days, Musume would look back on that moment with suspicion. It was in the sole moment that her weight was on one hand that the aged metal beneath the dark armour finally cracked and gravity took hold. What little grip still held had grown slick with moisture from the air and her grip slid from the light fitting. As the hand dropped below the platform she had huddled on, she watched her would-be rescuer lunge towards the plummeting figure. At that moment, as the very edges of their fingertips brushed, Musume thought for a moment that a smile was blossoming somewhere below the rain-speckled mask as two blue flickers appeared in the depths of the outline.

Without missing a beat, she pitched forward and through the damp air after the falling body. Unlike a normal person, no screams came from the falling body as it spun through the air, nor useless attempts to rescue itself.

Colliding with the still form was as about as rewarding as hitting a brick wall. Acting on instinct, four limbs wrapped around her with an almost deadly grip. Had her wings not been metaphysical, moving them would have become impossible. Science could only be stretched so far and Musume had pushed it further than many could imagine – now science was pushing back. Despite her wings being able to stretch more than twice her height, they were lacking in power enough for Musume and her precious cargo to drop like stones attached to a patched-up parachute. Those who lived at high speeds – fast cars, Turbo Duels or bearers of spectral wings – learnt an innate ability to calculate velocities on the fly. It was that or develop a habit of picking good rehab programs for when and if they get out of the hospital.

From the heights they had fallen, impact was less than seven seconds from point of fall, five from the moment of collision and only four from now. She could drop the bundle gripping her and make it to safety but that would leave her with a dead body, too many questions and an enraged family to go back to. Three-and-a-half seconds now, as other buildings in the skyline began to rush past her mask. A recollection of the pain caused by attempting to travel to the Spirit World burned from her memory and stole the choice with another half-second. Arms tightened around her and Musume wondered exactly who she was risking her life for. Unless the answer was coming in the next few seconds, it was unlikely to be made clear.

What happened next was hard to explain in words but the world seemed to... hiccup.

Some years after Zero Reverse KaibaCorp had – as both political and professional insult to the rival company – gifted Schroeder Corp with the second-highest building in New Domino City. It was a useless fact that everybody knew but seldom thought of. The only reason it came to the forefront of Musume's mind was because she had dropped past it a heartbeat ago and just done so again. It was barely two recycled seconds but time enough.

Back muscles stretched and tore as the lines between physical and spiritual blurred enough to cause enough pain to stun lesser mortals. It still hurt plenty to make Musume grind her teeth but no more as she pulled them both from a deadly dive into an infinitely more healthy straight line above the rooftops. With any luck, the gathering crowds of people would assume them to be either more pieces of light debris caught in the wind or colliding news drones flying to an eventual doom. Settling into a deep stillness, nothing more came from the bundle as Musume carried them towards Poppo Time once again.

* * *

"We're just going to go inside, okay?" Speaking in as calm a voice as she could manage, Musume tried to chivvy figure crouching behind her into the building as fast as possible. There had been numerous possibilities to be observed already and she wanted to avoid being seen if at all possible.

Jack and Crow were waiting in the garage crowded with Duel Runners. Silencing them with one finger, Musume threw a sturdy and highly illegal knuckleduster to Crow and gestured them to go upstairs.

"Let's just get settled in." Wrapping her jacket about the pair, she gently steered her charge towards the ragged old couch at the bottom of the ramp. Yusei was permanently on the verge of replacing it but never seemed able to find the time. "Can you wait here? I'll go and talk with the others." Drawing legs up against the dark torso, her strange new friend curled up in a ball in the narrow gap between sofa, wall and cupboard under the stairs. "You're safe here." Fishing around for something more persuasive to sway before finishing with a lame, "Trust me."

By the time she finally got up the stairs, Jack had a black eye, Crow in a headlock and several questions. Crow had bruised knuckles, rapidly diminishing oxygen and a certain sense there shouldn't be a growing white spot in the middle of his vision.

"Explain." Ever the leader, Yusei wasn't planning on shirking his responsibility in the slightest as he spoke in a threatening whisper. "Now."

Not to be cowed, Musume folded her arms, the new blade pointedly tapping its sheath against the side of her arm. "She's not like anything I've ever seen. Not Psychic, not Signer. Something different, something brand new." A name was inscribed on the hilt near her shoulder. She had searched the internet for a match and almost dismissed the answers out of hand. What people called impossible might be normal for her but even Musume's mind could only be so open.

"What even makes you think it's a woman?" There was a sort of pathetic whimper in her head and Musume was suddenly very angry at Leo for the unwitting question and responded in a whispered shout that was almost normal volume.

"Because men never lift their legs higher than their knees." Throughout her many years of fights – bar, professional, murderous – Musume had always noticed that men tended not to be willing to kick as high as women.

"And she just appeared?" Eager to smooth over Leo's mistake, Crow choked out the question between gasping breaths. "Like you... and Luna?" Smashing the knuckleduster behind Jack's knees, he sent them both toppling to the floor.

"No." Lifting the blade just enough to let the sound carry to where they were about to launch into another round, Musume quelled the fight as she lent against the bannister at the top of the stairs. "She jumped from the top of a building. Broke through the barrier of a Shadow Duel like it was just a bubble." That nugget had caused more than a stir when Luna had originally explained it but the moment had passed. As for how it had been done, the blade still clenched in her fist was practically bouncing off her skull in answer. That is, if Musume could accept what was written on the hilt as the truth.

"What if she's Yliaster?" They were all thinking it but only Luna was brave enough to give voice to the thought. Z-One had done exactly the same trick before, sending Primo to destroy Yusei and Bruno to save him.

"I'll take care of it." Ignoring the moral ambiguity of her words, Yusei brought the conversation back around to more practical and present matters.

"Why can't we see her directly? Have you any ideas?" Although even the most logical mind was assuming a form of magic, it was an underwhelming response.

"Armour of some kind. Seems capable of taking a beating. Black enough to blend in with shadows but probably stands out like a spotlight in the day." It went beyond that though. She hadn't been able to see it during their race across the rooftops. Flying it back to Poppo Time had been like carrying an invisible sack in her arms.

 _Darker than night, blacker than black, there awaits vantablack._

"Black, vantablack, same difference." Waving aside the point, Musume watched Yusei almost take a jump from excitement. There was even a slight squeal which his brothers would bring back to haunt him with.

"Vantablack? What makes you think it's vantablack?" Akiza's face frowned in exactly the same way as Musume's. Considering their relationship, it was actually the other way around.

"What's vantablack?" Rustling for something to write and almost drooling, Yusei entered full nerd mode.

"Arrays of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes that absorb practically all light and has some heat absorption abilities." Feeling all eyes turn on him, Jack scowled in a tiny twinge of embarrassment. "I read a couple of science magazines to understand what Yusei's talking about." Relief burst into all their hearts. The idea of Jack trying to get into the scientific fields was worrying to the entire profession. "Vantablack is ridiculously expensive and difficult to craft. It's mostly used on telescopes to reduce light pollution inside the tubes to get a clearer picture. Wouldn't work on armour."

 _Bits added to bits make a composite._

"Composite of what?" Turning back to Crow, Musume tried to shake the tingling in her spine. In other people, it might be known as fear. In her, it was a sense something was out of sorts in the world.

"What do you mean?" Staring at each other, it instantly became clear that the conversation was going slightly differently than it should.

"Humour me for a second." Slipping the sheath through her belt, Musume mentally rewound the conversation in her head. "Who first mentioned ventus-black?" Just the fact that she couldn't remember the proper name was an indication that it hadn't been her.

"Vantablack." Already sceptical, Crow was next to catch on to that feeling with instincts almost as honed as Musume's. "You did." A sharp look told him no, she hadn't.

"And who first talked about a composite?"

 _Me._ Again, that faint tingle as every member of her family failed to speak up. A slight sensation she hadn't felt exactly before but something similar and worrying for the parallel.

"Akiza? Can you come downstairs with me?" Resting one hand on her new weapon, she shifted it into the small of her back.

"What's going on?" Risking anger over his previous use of 'it', Leo broke back into the conversation.

"Just... stay here for a minute." Beckoning the good doctor to follow her, Musume slowly crept down the stairs. As the only one to spend any amount of time with the outline huddled downstairs, her authority was temporarily enough to get them not to follow.

Still curled up in the corner, a gentle rocking had gripped the figure. Back, forth. Back, forth. Back, forth. As Musume set foot on the floor, it stopped for a moment and looked straight at her before curling up against the wall tighter than before.

"You're a shrink." Belittling three years hard study into psychology, the bewildered young woman directed her mother to a new case-study. "Can you give me a few pointers?"

"She's probably in shock." Supernatural maladies had not been a part of her course so Akiza was shooting blind. "Under different circumstances, I'd advise some time to adjust." With what she knew of the situation and this person, Akiza also knew her companion wouldn't be patient enough to wait. "Try and keep everything calm. Be gentle." Grumbling an assent, Musume gently moved over to crouch a few feet away from the curled armour. Gentle was not a skill she was good at.

"Hey." Looking to Akiza for guidance, she only got a wobbling hand in reply. Not much use. "Were you just speaking to me?" Nodding her head, the dark shape seemed to elongate and retract several times. "Okay. Can you tell me why nobody else could hear you?" For a moment, there were ideas of movement as the head turned to look up at her.

 _Nobody listens to what they do not want to hear._ It was the same sensation as before. Musume's brain adamantly believed it had heard the message and her ears stubbornly refused to admit they had passed it on. A tiny glance at Akiza indicated that nobody else had heard her this time either.

"Well, I'm listening. You just say the words." Shifting slightly, the figure straightened up. A pair of blue swirls appeared in the middle of the dark face to look her in the eye. It was a deep sapphire blue, almost black. Whirls and pools seemed to hold patterns before shifting around again in swirls of unearthly beauty. A gentle feeling spread through the distance between them, rippling gently across the surface of incalculable cold and force. It was impossible to do anything other than be completely overwhelmed by the intelligence behind that gaze.

 _Trust._ It was possible to see deeper into the endless blue that gripped her entire attention. Fire could have spread across her back and Musume wouldn't have noticed. She was not usually this easily distracted but there was something behind that gaze that locked onto her and held fast.

"What about it?" From far away, Musume was aware she was asking the question.

 _Trust... you._ Each word lapped across her consciousness like waves across a beach. In, linger, gone in soft motions. _Always honest._ Always? Had they met before? Was it possible that Musume knew this woman?

"Musume?" Jerked awake by Akiza's voice, Musume forced herself not to fall into the bewitching gaze again. No, she would remember meeting this person before. At least, certainly in this incarnation.

"Why don't we get introductions out of the way?" Gripping the handle of her new sword gave her something to focus on. "I'm Musume." Slowly reaching out a cautious hand, a piece of darkness seemed to solidify in her grasp. Again, she was caught unprepared by the weight she was holding. It was very little, almost not there at all. But the blows, when they came, carried a force that bodybuilders could struggle to match. "Pleased to meet you." The hand shook once before it retreated back to the darkness. "Is it alright if we go upstairs?

"I don't think we'll get much conversation out of her." Watching the figure huddle behind Musume, Akiza pretended her attentions were elsewhere in a failed effort to be nondescript.

Realising that the group were already starting to draw up conclusions without even having spoken directly to her, the figure screwed up what courage they had available and managed to say a single word past her fears. _Hello._ Already pretending to look the other way, Akiza froze as the pair shuffled past. She was a doctor. She had degrees in neurology and psychology. She knew how the human brain worked. Nevertheless, she had no way of explaining why she had definitely just heard a word which had never reached her ears.

"You know," Smiling despite herself, Musume gave the darkness a reassuring pat. It took two attempts to actually find a surface. "I think that she'll surprise you."

* * *

 ** _We'll be leaving off here because that's nearly ten thousand words and if my eyes are burning, yours probably are as well. Don't worry, there'll be another (hopefully shorter) chapter along tomorrow. Just make sure to keep those reviews under ten thousand words or we'll all be sorry.  
_**


	48. Rambling Answers

With both legs drawn up and the arms encircling them, the resulting figure was surprisingly small in the chair. To avoid another unfortunate incident, Musume had carefully shunted Jack to the back of their little group and handed Crow another knuckleduster should his brother step out of line.

"Is there anything that you need?" Taking Musume's advice as her guidance, Akiza was wondering how her medical skills would apply to someone who talked straight into her head. Smiling uneasily, she watched those eyes turn in her direction. "I'm Akiza."

 _Director Izinski?_ Rocking in place, an unsettling laugh came from beneath that mask. _No, that was later, not now._ Conferring a quick look with her mother, it was clear that she had no recognition of the title.

"Maybe you just sit there and we'll start things off." Both shoulders shrugging was easily seen from where she sat. Taking it as an assent, she tried to think about how to begin a conversation with someone she had almost killed. "Let's start with names. I'm Musume, that's Crow and Akiza." She had positioned the group nearby but still with enough space to prevent their guest from feeling crowded. Large groups of people crowding in on her had already ended poorly once that evening. "Try not to pay any attention to Yusei or Jack – they're about as brainless as you can get." If it made answers come any quicker, the Signers would have hired a squad of professional comedians to insult Yusei. Not that they would have needed them with both brothers in the room. "And that's Luna and Leo." Tiny flickers of blue deep inside that mask watched names be attached to people but said nothing.

"Why are we last?" Neither as shallow or slow as her brother, Luna just stepped on his toes until he stopped speaking and they could hear Musume again.

"Can you say something? I mean, you wouldn't stop talking earlier." Mimicking the posture across the table, she cracked a comforting smile. At least, that was what she was aiming for. It was not even vaguely clear how her guest was taking it. Something she was doing must have worked because tight fingers slowly began to peel away from knees until they were only holding the joints and not almost crushing them.

 _Hello._ It was a timid tone but they all heard it take time. Luna fumbled at nothing as she tried to reconcile the voice she was hearing as something like a Duel Spirit but fundamentally not one as Leo failed to notice anything out of the ordinary. Jack had borne the screaming weight of Red Nova for only a few months but understood the ethereal nature of spirits better than most researchers while Crow had an unpleasant flashback to his short stint in the Netherworld. Only Akiza had no real comparison to draw on but decided to just go with it.

"Let's answer some real questions." For his unwanted contribution, Jack would later receive a few bruised ribs. "Like why can't we see her?" Crow instantly wrapped his brother in a tight hold and grappled him to the floor as the figure on the chair wrapped itself back up in a tight shell again.

"As much as I hate to agree with the taller idiot," Looking around at the group, their guest noticed how nobody seemed particularly alarmed that Jack and Crow were brawling in the middle of the floor. "He makes a good point once a month. Can you tell us a bit more about your outfit? Maybe give us a name?"

Although they were clearly making an effort to answer her question, what came across was more in abstract meanings than literal or physical ones. "Ideas? Shadows? Shades?" Musume switched to the same ancient Quechua dialect that her companion had used earlier in hopes that it might work better. " _Llanthu? Nuna?_ " Two dark palms were held apart a fraction of an inch on the table. "Phantom?" A single nod was her reply before the hands wrapped back around the legs. "Phantom, can you tell us more about yourself? Maybe take off that helmet?" With all the speed of a wary snail, the freshly named 'Phantom' slowly began raising her fingers through the air. Turning around in her seat, Musume gave her best glower to the room.

"Everybody, this is Phantom. Let's all be nice to her, got it?" This last part was directed more at Jack than anybody else. Rotating back around, she was just in time to see nervous fingertips fiddling about each other. "It's okay. We're all friends here. You can show us. It can't be more horrifying than seeing Crow in the morning." A shifty look of support from Yusei kept Crow from passing comment. Crow might be many things but he was not a natural beauty after getting up.

Carefully, as careful as she had been when stepping between Luna and a Shadow Duel, Phantom lowered her head and placed a hand on either side of the black helmet. Blue lights in her eyes died down as she gently shifted fingers and thumbs around the curves. Carefully pinching in just the right places, there came the tiniest sound of hidden latches and locks undoing themselves. Levering the plate forward, Phantom gently lowered it to the table.

For some reason, all the Signers had stopped breathing in suspense. To say her appearance caused mixed reactions was a slight understatement. Leo gasped at exactly the wrong time and began choking on nothing, Crow gave a startled yell and tripped over the coffee table as Jack buried into the couch in shock. Akiza lost feeling to three fingers as Yusei grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight. Maybe the most bizarre was Musume. She just quietly leant forward and stared at the huddled being before her as the curved material rocked quietly on the table. Another hand reached up and removed what remained of the helmet until what lay inside was unencumbered.

What was looking back at them wasn't quite a face. It was more a vague outline, composed of rolling blue light that shifted tones as it turned this way and that. A very primal thing deep inside Jack whispered remembrances of the familiar he had met deep beneath the Incan geoglyphs. For some reason, nobody was screaming in fear or immediately thinking of ways to destroy the floating being. There was just a sense of quiet puzzlement as if they somehow knew this was nothing dangerous but still lacked any idea of how to deal with it.

Eventually, as with all inexplicable things, Musume spoke first. "Nice colours." It was not her strongest moment. Passing the baton of inarticulate wordcraft, Crow stepped up to bat.

"I like how the bits... um... do that thing." Unfortunately, his contribution was about as daring as the one before. He was a bit unsettled by the burning lights that floated where eyes should have been.

"Is she a ghost?" Before her twin could start the inevitable screaming, Luna slapped a hand across his mouth. Phantom had possibly saved her life once already, it would be rude to let her brother start screaming at her now.

"Are you a Duel Spirit?" The blob shook from side to side in smooth ripples of movement with confusion permeating the air. "Oh." She had seen many different appearances of Duel Spirits over the years but this being not belonging to the Spirit World was an unforeseen twist. Suddenly – and for the first time ever – her brother's instinctive reaction didn't seem too excessive.

An awkward silence descended as they tried to think of how to continue a polite conversation without mentioning the lack of body. "How do you use the bathroom?" All eyes – physical and otherwise – turned to Jack. "What? We were all thinking it." Including the medical professional, no, nobody else had been thinking it and – judging by the stares Jack was getting – they were mildly repulsed by the question.

"If there was a mute button for you, it'd have saved me so many headaches." Crow could feel one building now. Or maybe that was the intensely focused stare he was getting from the ethereal being. "I meant for him." Pointing a literal finger of blame at his brother did nothing to divert the gaze. With the silence slowly stretching out in his nervousness, nobody wanted to be the first to speak.

"Maybe it's best if you put the helmet back on." Averting her penetrating gaze, Phantom carefully picked up the parts of her helmet and began securing them into place. First the back, then the sides and, finally, the tinted visor. As soon as the outfit was fully replaced, the shimmering light was captured within and the calming spell was broken. "Neat armour. Where'd you get it?" Even though Musume was trying to keep herself controlled, she was finding herself slowly starting to want a set for herself. Not for any particular reason but because she didn't have one of her own.

 _Stolen from the minds of tomorrow and ghosts of yesterday. Forged in the bowels of the planet with the material of life._ Blinking several times, Musume squinted at the odd pattern of words. It was like Phantom had thought up a logical response, run it through a cheap online translator in several unrelated languages and then read the result while drunk.

"Okay." Accepting the crazy response at face-value, Crow moved onto a better question. "Can you tell us how you managed to interrupt the Shadow Duel earlier?" If she could break into one, maybe she could help him with rescuing Pearson. But he should have known not to raise his expectations so early.

 _By moving unseen through the shadows to pierce through that which separates._ As much as they were trying to remain cautious, the group was starting to see a pattern whenever Phantom answered a question directly.

"What do you think about my jacket?" Wearing his azure Runner jacket, Leo looked ready for a Turbo Duel on the top half and ready for bed with his pyjama bottoms left on in the original hurry to reach his sister. Not in the mood for more gibberish, Musume interrupted before a response could come.

"Is there someone you would like us to call?" Reaching for the longest odds that the bizarre creature had a translator they could use, she tried for one last effort. "Maybe there's a friend we could speak to?" Grateful that Phantom didn't try for more nonsense speak, she was still disheartened when the head shook a negative. "Okay. You wait there for a minute, we just need to discuss this a little bit." Edging her chair backwards, she didn't let the armour out of her sight for a second as she backed towards her family.

"I think that it goes without saying – we tell nobody." Causing problems might be inevitable to Musume but increasing them seemed to be fun for her.

"I dunno." Slipping the illegal knuckleduster back into his pocket, Crow pretended to think it over. "I think a straitjacket would suit Jack fairly well." Without a strong advantage to be wary of, Jack was swift to kidney-punch his younger sibling. Eager to avoid an all-out brawl – which Crow might have even won – the wiser brother turned to the smartest. "What should we do with her for the meantime?" Between the rambling, violence and supernatural weirdness, they had little idea what to do with her.

"She can stay with us." It would be a dark day before Yusei ever invoked his powers as master of the house but tone left no room for discussion in his voice. Even if this was another Antiomy-Trojan-horse scenario, the former Signers would always be ready to take another lost cause under their wings. Especially since she had tried to help Luna and despite the cautious voice in his head warning him of the 'knight in shining armour' gambit.

"Yeah, she can take Crow's room." Attention slipped from the pair as they fell into an inevitable squabble.

"Leo and I should get going. Taxis are going to be hard to get soon." Midnight had given way to the grim area of time that existed between 'the night before' and 'the morning after'. Practically all business would shut down to amend any errors and prepare for the morning shoppers. Drivers would likely pull over and squeeze in a few hours stolen sleep off the clock. Even trains would stop running to rest their wheels.

"I'll call you one." Of course, many drivers would go a few days without sleep for the mere chance of meeting the great Yusei Fudo. With his recent win being screamed around the world, taxies would line up for miles just to offer him a ride. "Jack, Crow. I want you to go with them." Once more, the authority that Yusei never wielded forced his brothers into quietly accepting their fate. After what Luna had been through, it would be best that she have someone there for her for a while. Also, Jack's assertive nature around Phantom's fragile state was like tying up a bull in a pottery studio and hoping it stayed still.

Once the twins had safely departed with an awe-struck fan, Akiza and Yusei simply vanished away before Musume could even reach the second floor again. It was a cheap trick that dropped the bundle of supernatural responsibility solely in the lap of the only person who was both capable of dealing with and lacking the necessary motivation to deal with the mess. By the time she managed to reach the living room, it was empty but for the outline of darkness huddled quietly on a chair.

"I can't believe," Considering the stories she had grown up with, Musume realised very quickly that she _could_ believe her extended family would drop her with a problem nobody wanted. "Okay, they're all a load of," There is something disconcerting about a moving shape of utter void suddenly listening a bit harder than it did a moment before. "What are you looking at?" It was supposedly impossible to tell which way the head moved but Musume had the faintest suggestion that it dropped again. "Just stay where I can keep an eye on you." Throwing herself with unnecessary force onto the sofa, she lounged against the furthest part from the part in the kitchen and put the television on several bars louder than was strictly needed. It being late at night, there were only reruns of once-famous shows, films that had fallen from the shelves years ago, channels trying to sell stuff nobody needed or should be buying from their television anyway and the news.

" _Kids, it was the middle of winter and your uncle_ " Family dramas have nothing on Signer problems. Next.

" _y secret. I'm always angry._ " Try living with an ancient spirit in your head that wants to eradicate your entire family genetic ancestry. Next.

" _This stunning piece can be yours for only_ " Tacky jewellery, fake gems. Next.

" _We still don't have all the reports but it appears that the New Domino Police Department was involved in an altercation earlier this evening._ " Pictures from the warehouse district momentarily appeared on the screen as Musume flipped past a news report before hurriedly switching back. " _...cials have declined to give comment at this time but witnesses have reported that many officers were injured in the attempt to apprehended an intruder at the dock long-term storage warehouses._ " Lights were flashing in the background that had not been present earlier. Ambulances had arrived to take away the many, many wounded. " _At this point, it is unclear how many people were involved but it is apparent that the group inflicted heavy damage to the police who attended the call. A security guard who gave comment claimed that only one person infiltrated the warehouses and is presumed to have let others in._ " Nobody sane would think that the lone intruder could have held off so many police officers. It was hard to imagine that the same person was now huddled in the corner and barely able to string a sentence together.

"Looks like you're famous." Indicating the television, she quietly rubbed at one eye. Whatever else had happened to her in Paris had let her see things like Duel Spirits and the dark energy of a Shadow Duel much easier yet – for all the straining she had been trying to sneak in – all that went to waste against the silent armour. "Seriously, where did you get that outfit? You know what." Holding up a single finger, she stopped the doubtless infuriating reply before it could come. "Don't worry about it. I don't need the headache." But one was already starting to blossom behind her eyes.

No matter how hard she tried, everything in her life seemed destined to turn into crap. Saving her family from their previous fates had been the one goal that seemed to have worked out so far. But the more she thought about it – and she tried _not_ to think about it – literally everything else had fallen apart. Leaving to try and have a tiny slice of life for herself had only let her meet her family coming from the other direction. Duelling in the Pegasus Trinidad had resulted in Crow going to the Underworld and her biggest secrets being revealed. Which had then led to everything in Paris and the fact that she now sometimes woke up with different or more appendages than she had gone to sleep with. And now she was stuck babysitting a blue thing in a suit of armour with aching eyes. She had aching eyes. Not Phantom. Did Phantom even have eyes?

Three things that Musume had forgotten to account for that day: that she hadn't slept since the morning of the day before, the unnatural (or did she mean supernatural?) draining effect of being in a Dark Duel for even the few seconds she had been in and that staring at the television late at night has a moderately hypnotic effect. Only a few minutes after closing her tired eyes – just to rest them, of course – she was dead to the world.

As her quiet snores filled the room, Phantom slowly looked up and realised that she had not exactly been forgotten but designated as being unimportant and unthreatening. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about a lot of things recently. Everything had been strange since the incident on the rooftop. Looking out across the room, she realised she knew how she felt about at least one thing.

Anybody who had spent more than a minute in Poppo Time could tell of the creaking floorboards and loose stones that littered respective floors. Uncurled from her stiff position on the chair, she placed her feet in peculiar exact positions and carefully slipped across the open space without making any noise at her passing. Looking down at the sofa, one hand silently reached out with excruciating intent.

* * *

 ** _It's a lot shorter than yesterday's but the tone is (hopefully) a lot different so I thought it would make a standalone chapter. (Also, nobody wants to read 12k words at once.) Since it's shorter (and kind bland) feel free to do the same when you leave a review._**


	49. Phantom Truths

Most good doctors would have cautioned against participating in a police operation while recovering from severe burns. They would also have recommended not letting a stranger into their house. Slowly forcing his eyes open, Yusei's rested brain started to come around to the more traditional way of thinking. Levering himself up, he grunted slightly at the pain still present. The burns were about halfway healed. Another day and they would be mostly done.

"Hmmm." Mumbling in her sleep, gentle fingers grasped at his hand as he tried to slip out of the bed. Not completely insane, he had kept himself on the side closer to the door. "Coffee?"

"Sure." Smiling as she huddled up in the warm duvet, he carefully slipped a thin shirt over the injuries on his back. It was a small discomfort but would hopefully help their guest be a bit more at ease than if he was walking around topless. "Milk, no sugar?" A wobbling thumb indicated that caffeine would be the primary motivation for getting out of bed that day.

Carefully opening the door, Yusei slipped out and closed it behind him as quietly as possible. Part of the reason that they had ditched Musume the night before had been because she might actually attack him if she knew they were sharing a room. That she was probably the only person who could deal with Phantom if she lashed out again. But when he saw the view from the hallway, part of that worry subsided.

Crouched in the middle of the room, the flat outline of the spectre was looking down with every inch focused on the floor. Sitting down and staring back up at her was the tiny ball of energy that was Hoshi. "Good morning." Noticing the slumbering figure on the couch, he hesitated in the doorway for a moment. Turning her head to look up at him, there was a small smile behind the mask. "I see you've met Hoshi. She stops by from time to time." A quiet mew drew Phantom's attention back to the impatient feline. "I'm going to make some coffee." Edging around behind the cat, he wondered if she was talking to the strange thing inside the armour. It wouldn't be the strangest thing in their world. "Would you like some?" Looking up from the cat for a moment, she carefully shook her head. "Okay." Flicking on the kettle, he silently watched the pair. Giving another quiet squeak, Hoshi flapped out with a paw into the air. Slowly reaching out a slim digit, Phantom let her bat it around a few times.

"Cat person?" Having checked the coast was clear before leaving the room, Akiza had been in time to watch the careful display of contact. Noting the sleeping face on the couch, she fervently hoped that the drooling came from Musume's father and not her.

"I hear all the smart people are." Spooning some power into a cup, he was more concerned with being delayed at making coffee than the supernatural creature currently being sniffed at by his cat. Hoshi was typically a good judge of character.

"Then explain why you have one." Giving her a pained look, Yusei poured some water into a mug and passed her the steaming brew.

"And I thought that the burns on my back hurt." Twisting her head to look at the pair, Phantom said watched the exchange. Despite the impossible hardships which should have broken them, the pair were quietly smiling and sharing jokes. "Did you want some breakfast? There's..." Unlike him, his brothers generally ate food instead of buying it. They had barely gone to the shops when they lived together but now Yusei found himself almost eaten out of house and home whenever they entered the city. "Eggs."

 _Eggs?_ Tilting her head, Phantom sounded excited by the suggestion. Exactly what an incorporeal being could require breakfast for was any guess but there was an edge to that smile Yusei hadn't expected. One that might have even seemed sinister.

* * *

It was difficult to put a name to the feeling when there hadn't been much of childhood for Musume to enjoy. She was tired but warm. Akiza was somewhere nearby, talking just too softly for Musume to clearly hear. Yusei was laughing at something she said. There was the smell of cooking food in the air and she was nestled beneath a thick blanket. It took a full minute for her to find the word and it was almost an alien concept. Comfortable. And that cynical part of her – it was a large part – knew that any time things started to go well, they were about to go to shit. Peeling back the warm cover, she instantly tried to find the clear and most obvious threat. It was fairly hard to miss.

Phantom looked – and there were few other words to describe it – ridiculous. That strange armour of hers made seeing anything more than an outline impossible. Even what equated to eyes could barely be distinguished as vague blobs in the middle of inky blackness. Only a genius or a mental patient could have come up with this plan to overcome that problem and it was the combined work of Yusei and Phantom. Go figure.

"A boilersuit?" Wrapped from top to bottom in faded orange, Phantom looked more like an escaped convict than a sinister force lurking in the shadows. Looking up from the table, that recent laugh had barely faded from his face. Twisting around in her chair, Akiza had a small plate of scrambled eggs in front of her to match the ones Yusei had been eating.

"Good morning. How did you sleep?" Dressed in a slightly baggy shirt and hair mildly tousled, she had clearly not had the chance to prepare for the day yet.

"Screaming headache." And not for the first time. No matter how hard she tried to block out the noise, it hadn't stopped since Paris. "Thanks for the blanket." When she had fallen asleep – and she was still kicking herself for letting her guard down like that – Musume had been noticeably blanket free.

"That wasn't me." An enquiring glance across the table had Yusei shaking his head. Suddenly very focused on the boiling kettle, Phantom was failing to fade into the background with her flamboyant outfit making her an easy target.

"And you're dressed like a convict because?" It had been one thing to thank her mother, another to let a charitable action by Yusei slide (only because Akiza was around) but she wouldn't be thanking Phantom while she knew nothing about her.

"It's the only thing we could agree on." Beside the boiler suit, the only alternatives that would have worked were Jack's sweeping coat (which he would have attacked anybody for wearing without his express permission) several short jackets (that had given the unsettling feeling Phantom was only half-dressed) and wrapping her up in several blankets until she looked like a puffy bundle of confusion. Akiza had dug the outfit out from under a workbench in the garage as a last resort option. "Well, she hasn't torn it off so far. That's about the best indication we have."

"That and she hasn't poisoned these eggs. I think." Yusei started prodding his dwindling portion with a look of slight suspicion. "They do taste a bit different though." In a good way. She had twiddled in a lot of different seasonings under a watchful eye. He had spent so much time occupied with bigger matters lately that he wasn't entirely sure what he had stocked in his kitchen but Phantom had slipped between the cupboards as the breakfast cooked and pulled out anything that she felt would be suitable.

 _A bit of thyme and effort makes all the difference._ Speaking without words made it easy to distinguish between the chronological concept and the herb she had added to the dish. After a strange look at the pair already seated at the table, Musume lowered herself into the remaining chair and was instantly rewarded with a small dish of her own.

"No." Whisking away the plate with one hand, Phantom deftly placed one of Jack's less extravagant cafetières on the table instead, with a mug slipping from around her thumb to land perfectly in place for Musume. "You're being nice." Narrowing her eyes, she tried to find the reasons why anyone would be nice after getting stabbed in the chest. "Why are you being nice?" A confused smile flickered on the other side of the visor. She still wasn't used to being unable to see them directly but they were still clearly there.

 _There are three things in human life that are important._ Clearing away the spare plates, she was making plain sense for the first time as they were stacked in the sink to soak. _The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind._

"And the third is to be kind." Looking up from his suspiciously good eggs, Yusei recognised the words. They weren't her own. "Henry James." An old American-British author whose works had been compared to being the literary equivalent of the impressionist paintings. He had been recommended a few of them by Dr Morton when the American had visited the SRC one time. "You're well-read." Both shoulders shrugged as she quietly began scrubbing out the pan she had used to make the meal.

 _The more you read, the more that you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you will go._ Now that was a quote that he didn't recognise. But it was the slight smile from across the table that tipped him off that they were also not her own words.

Biting back on her lip, Akiza decided to let her them in on the joke. "Dr Seuss." Both well-respected authors in their own rights. Not the sort that you would expect to be partnered together for reading. "I used to volunteer some time to work with the paediatric unit. They had a few of his books."

"Did you put something in their eggs?" Staring at the silently scrubbing outline, Musume had the unusual feeling that she had succumbed to an unreal nightmare. "Sorry, the coffee hasn't started working." Rubbing both eyes, she tried to grapple with the world while half her brain continued to yearn for the comforting embrace of the couch. "Yesterday, she interrupted a Shadow Duel and attacked the police department. Today, she's making eggs and coffee." Twisting her head, Phantom seemed puzzled by Musume's confusion.

 _Yes._ It came down to a tie. The fact that she wasn't confounded by the dichotomy or the fact that she had turned around and was continuing to clean the pan with her arms behind her without any sign of discomfort. One of the two facts had to be the weirdest part of the conversation because Phantom had nailed the actual breakfast. Musume was already draining her second cup of coffee and those eggs were starting to look appealing.

"Well, they're good eggs." Finishing off her portion, Akiza nodded gratefully to the bizarre chef. "Thank you." Everyone was being far too nice. There was probably a place in the universe for being nice but Musume knew with every fibre of her being that it wasn't in her vicinity. Nobody was ever nice when she was around.

"Okay, what's going on? You're being too nice." Reaching down, she carefully started to slide the sword from her boot. Noting the motion, Akiza made several frantic gestures to put away the weapon. "Is she threatening you?" While she was fine with Yusei being held hostage, she would take another – literal – stab at killing Phantom if she so much as looked at her mother funny.

"I was trying to be subtle." A faint flush appeared along Akiza's neck as her other patient also looked faintly betrayed at not being allowed to be the first one to pry. "I'm not sure but I _think_ Phantom might be autistic." Silenced echoed outward in the room, marred only by the gentle sound of dishes being washed in one corner.

"What makes you think that?" Yusei was being very careful with his words right then. People with autism were generally delicate enough when in their own bodies. Nobody had done a study on if their soul was locked inside a suit of armour. Too small a sample pool.

"When I went to get the milk," Without prompting, Phantom reached out one hand and opened the fridge door to help Akiza's story along. Almost all the items inside had been rotated to face the labels outward. Vegetables in the drawer had been sorted neatly into groups and a loose bag of oranges had been neatly arranged into a small square on the front of one shelf. It was like the entire thing had been packed by a machine. "Then there was her extreme aversion to people," Meaning how she had attacked the entire police department. Yusei still had yet to figure out a way to deal with that problem but Trudge had promised to give him as much time as he could. "The way she reacted when Jack threatened to move her and how she's doing the dishes now." A 'normal' approach to washing dishes was just to scrub at the lumpier parts and wipe down everything else. Phantom was making it a personal mission to return everything to its original condition, even making a fair attempt to remove months of burns on the bottom of one pan. Everything she had already cleaned was neatly arranged on the sideboard as close as was physically possible without touching.

"Okay, and your point is?" It was a blunt question that earned Musume the sort of looks somebody got if the shouted objections at a wedding.

"Musume, autism is an extremely difficult condition to live with." Automatically speaking in hushed tones, Yusei knew all about it. Five of his best physicists were autistic. One of them also refused to work if somebody brought anything purple into his workspace. "Patients have to be handled extremely and,"

"Hey, Phantom." Whispered attempts to abort fell on deaf ears as Musume cut straight past the pandering stage. "Do you need any sort of help or are you good?" Entire books had been written on exactly why this was the wrong approach to conversing with an autist. It was clear that Musume had read none of them.

 _Good._ She extended her word to encompass all three people at the table.

"Autism, that's the one where you're good with numbers?" Nobody in the whole of Phantom life – well, existence – had been as direct about her condition as Musume was being right then.

 _Logic. Patterns._ Akiza was carefully taking notes to write up later as Yusei looked on in professional envy. Stevenson was never this interactive. Stevenson had cost the SRC several important contracts after being overly blunt with government officials. Higher-functioning autists could blend almost unnoticed into society and even excel in certain areas. Many people who were diagnosed were not as lucky and required constant supervision. Clearly, Phantom fell into the earlier category.

"Neat." That single word floored Phantom in ways she hadn't thought possible. People tended to ask a lot more intrusive questions when they found out she was autistic. Especially when it came with a speech impediment.

 _Nothing else?_ Musume just shrugged as she drained her cup of coffee and was quick to pour another. Realising that she was still holding the sword in order to kill Phantom, she carefully slid it back away as the liquid flowed into her mug. Just because she wasn't going to be nice to her didn't mean that she would be demeaning either.

"You tried helping my friends and you're smart. It doesn't bother me if you don't think the same way as the rest of the idiots." Something that not a lot of people knew – mainly because the average understanding of the condition was of the less fortunate sufferers – was that autism is a spectrum disorder. Everyone was technically autistic to some minor degree. Musume's stoic approach to the condition was the single most remarkable Phantom had ever come across. "And I'm guessing you don't need 'handling' after everything you've done." There was a moment as Phantom stood drying her hands that the group fell silent.

 _Thank you._ Then she laughed in the most beautiful way.

"One thing I have to ask." She could tell Phantom was still smiling. There was no visible sign but Musume could still feel a happy grin coming from behind that mask. "Where did you get the sword? It's meant to be a myth." Carefully fetching the legendary weapon – sheath and all – from where she had hidden it in her boot, Musume placed the deadly blade on the table.

 _Indeed._ Phantom made no move to approach the table or the weapon upon it. _Myth is much more important and true than history. History is just journalism and you know how reliable that is._ It was a fully coherent sentence. They were acquainted enough to recognise that it was probably not one of her own.

"Nietzsche? Marx? Lenin?" It was modern enough to recognise the futility of journalism but not so famous that Yusei could quickly pin it down. And since he had endured a lot more time to pursue the field than Akiza, it was a small chance that she knew the answer either.

 _Joseph Campbell._ Putting aside the philosophical claptrap, Akiza tried to swing the conversation back to the more pressing physical question.

"What's so special about the sword?" As far as Dr Izinski was concerned, any item designed to hurt another person was just as distasteful as the next. Being mythical didn't lessen her hatred of it to any noticeable degree.

"It's known as the Yawarakai-Te – the Holy Hands." In his chair, Yusei started listening a lot more attentively. If more ancient history was about to start screwing with modern history, it would pay to know as much as possible. "According to legend, it cannot cut anything innocent or undeserving of being attacked. There isn't a tsuba handguard on it because it isn't meant to be used aggressively, only as a last resort." It had the added bonus of being thin enough to slip just about anywhere she needed it to without the round disc bulking it up. Any three-second internet search – and measuring it against one leg – could reveal as much. "But the stories say it was forged in an impossible competition between two smiths who lived decades apart." Masamune – who created the sword – reportedly died near the beginning of the 14th century but his opponent in the competition hadn't been born until the start of the 15th century.

 _When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable._ Looking down at once hand, Phantom curled the fingers into a fist. _Must be the truth._ Even Musume had heard of this one. Certain sayings had a way of ingraining themselves into global culture.

"Yeah, no shit." Waving a hand across her face, she highlighted the imprinted lines, glowing eyes and deeply set scowl. "So, how did you find it?"

 _You are never strong enough that you do not need help._ Quoting a civil rights activist usually invoked either deep thoughts, a philosophical (or just a normal) argument or a combination thereof. When it was to a prickly personality holding a sword, it resulted in two shattered plates, Akiza trying to grapple Musume back from leaping over the table and Yusei making noises like a constipated rhino as he screamed through a clenched jaw after being knocked over, spilling coffee over his front and bursting several blisters on impact with the floor. It was an interesting noise.

"She's just quoting, _she's just quoting!_ " In her haste to stop brutal murder, she had overlooked the fact that Musume had managed to pull out the sword. With trying to divert the outraged lunge that hadn't reached Phantom – who had instantly managed to fall over nothing at the sudden change of tone – Akiza had the uncanny sensation that it had slid straight through her arm at least once.

Letting out a lengthy pained groan as he rolled to one side, Yusei began the incredibly painful task of returning to upright. "Cesar Chavez." Carefully lifting his chair, he was trying to calculate how long it had been since he last took painkillers through the incredible pain of his recently-almost-healed back suddenly taking a sharp drop in progress. "Latino American civil rights." With the patient's view of knowing medicine better than the instructions on the box or the medical expert who had written them, he fumbled in the cupboards for the magical little bundles of science which would make the entire world feel like less of a steaming pile of agony.

"I don't expect you to ever do that again." Only that she didn't know what sort of tricks the sword could do was stopping Akiza from confiscating it. "I'm _very_ disappointed in you."

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child." Even as that screaming in her head turned to mocking laughter, she could feel the anger of Red Nova coiling through her gut. Picking herself up and dusting herself down, Phantom watched the exchange with a mix of confusion and interest.

"If you're going to _act_ like one, I'm going to _treat_ you like one." Straightening the ruined breakfast assortment on the table, she glared at her daughter. That she had never had. And was technically three different ages. Akiza hadn't been a child who dreamt of being a parent but it appeared no aspects of her life were either ordinary or under her control. "Now, apologise." Seeing those eyes flicker and glow, Phantom realised that she didn't need an apology.

 _To err is human._ Waving aside the problem with another quote, the undervalued ability of hindsight left her hoping that Musume didn't know the end of the quote and think her conceited. That sword was still (literally) on the table.

"You're playing with fire." Swallowing his tablets with a mouthful of water, Yusei was smart enough not to clue the attacker in. Meeting his gaze, Phantom flickered one glowing circle in a wink with a slight edge to her smile. "I wish I could get a look inside your head to see what makes you this brave." Catching the words as she ignored a stern lecture, an idea started to blossom inside Musume's mind.

"What if we could?" Putting up a hand to block out a speech on ethical principles, she wondered if her crazy idea would even work. "All her jibber-jabber makes sense in Phantom's head. What if I just went in there to talk with her?"

"Sure, we'll just shrink down and go inside the brain she doesn't have to poke around." Pain and irritation were the only two things that could make Yusei snippy. "I meant physically." Suddenly very aware that he had just unintentionally insulted a creature who had held her own against dozens of police officers, he tried to rectify the mistake.

 _I know._ But there was a definite tint to the glare. The eyes had darkened slightly. Turning to Musume again, they flared back up in curiosity. _How?_

* * *

Once the mess had been cleared to the side, Musume had directed Phantom to take Akiza's chair before seating herself back down. "Give me your hand." A trepidatious look went to where she was holding out a palm. "Remember last night?" Rain swirling on the platform at the top of the world, no way of knowing that Phantom wouldn't be hurt by the fall. "Still trust me?" A slight smile came and head tilt indicated the sword which had been hidden away again but the watching doctor recognised a more medical reason why she was pausing.

"People with autism usually struggle with... well, physical contact." Despite Phantom not currently having a physical body. "She might need a minute." More and more, Akiza was starting to put the pieces of clues together in her head. The resulting image was a strange one.

"Take all the time that you need." Waving away the offer, Phantom lifted her hands onto the table. Gripping her right wrist, she carefully twisted the gauntlet and pulled it free. Spiralling out in wisps of flowing light came a spectral hand. Twisting it this way and the other, she curled and unfurled her fingers with obvious fascination. "Phantom?" Coming back to the present, she leaned on one elbow as the flickering thing inched to where Musume could readily touch it.

Moving her own right hand to meet the trembling outline. A slight gasp came as she made contact. It was cold but not simply in temperature. It felt like every bad day that she had ever had. A flicker of concern pulsed through the waiting eyes and the chilled burn in her grip faded.

"This shouldn't hurt." Raising an eyebrow, Yusei moved the thick, heavy couch out a few inches from where he was watching on the other side of the room. Between the pair of them, it would be a minor miracle if his house was left standing if anything went wrong.

"Shouldn't?" Securing the sturdy piece of furniture away from the wall with two hefty pieces of lumber usually stored behind, he crouched behind it with eyes peeking over the top and coffee sending steam over his face. "How sure are you?" Scoffing, Akiza turned to the pair at the table.

"Nobody's done this in decades." Inside twelve seconds, she was crouched behind Yusei and keeping her balance by gripping his shoulder. What he had failed to consider was that a small explosion would easily burst through the faded fabrics but a muscular scientist would provide far better protection. "And that was with years of practice." Wisdom finally coming to the fore, Yusei made to leave the house but Akiza dug her fingernails into his brachial plexus and daintily suspended the issue of doing no harm for a second. She wasn't going to miss this for anything. "And a Millennium Item." It took another grip on his other shoulder before he stopped trying to squirm away and resigned himself to being a human shield.

"What exactly are you going to do?" Reaching over, one hand dragged over the thick blanket in the hopes it would provide spatter-proofing should anybody explode.

"Just relax." It became clear that Musume had moved on to her ill-conceived attempt at communication and both adults crouched a bit lower behind their protective shield. On the rare occasion she dared to converse with her 'house-guests', it was more a feeling of sinking into herself. It was an experiment that she had little idea of how to run and plenty of trepidation over undertaking.

Instead of falling into herself, she tried reaching out. Letting her gaze wander and she tried reaching out with her mind. Wandering eyes stared into the endless blue depths within the helmet. Despite her attempts to not let attention wonder, she couldn't help but notice how they weren't one shade of blue. Each one shifted and swirled with colour. Sometimes they would settle, falling into _a deep hue that she could lose herself in and stare at for hours on end. A gentle rhythm seemed to soothe away any of her worries about anything going wrong._

" _Hello." It took some time for her to realise that somebody was talking to her and more to move her gaze. It was then she realised she no longer in Poppo Time._

" _This?" She had no practical frame of reference but for a few third-hand stories from her childhood. "This is what... who you are?" Their collective knowledge of Phantom was that she was possibly rich, possibly a killer, didn't speak very much and was on a practical suicide mission to either take down Yliaster or save the Signers (the vote the previous night came down to a tie). Musume had been expecting something dark, brooding and angry and an unmistakable presence of giant stalagmites (or did she mean stalactites?). Not this!_

 _There was a slight chill in the air and waves crashed on the sand only inches away that seemed like miles. Standing beside her was the same black armour that kept throwing itself in front of her. Unlike in the outside world, no light shone from within. It just stood impassively beside her._

" _Where are we?" Inside the twisted world, she could feel moss and grass under her feet just as easily as the sand and trees seemed all around as the sea spread in every direction._

 _Phantom looked around for a moment and seemed to relax the barest fraction. "Home." Everything slowly began to order itself into more realistic impressions. Land and liquid separated from one another and grew distinct. A tiny pebble beach surrounded them with overlapping forested hills backing them. Clouds parted overhead to reveal a moon in full serenity._

" _Where exactly is that?" Wading out to a low wooden breakwater, Phantom hoisted herself onto it and began wiggling her feet through the water._

" _Home." For some reason, Musume found herself pushing forward to sit upon the narrow wooden platform. Despite the chill in the air around them, the water was warm and soothing. Something about the serene beach felt like the most remote corner of the world. Even if they had been in the real world, Japan, Yliaster, and even Musume herself would have been hundreds of miles away. It was not entirely safe yet nowhere near as dangerous as being near to the Signers._

 _Time seemed to stand still and she was only aware of the soft lapping of waves beneath their knees for maybe minutes and possibly hours. From the stories she had learnt third-hand, the nature of a person's soul was a partial reflection of their state of mind as well as their true self. Right at that moment, she knew that Phantom was completely at ease._

" _Where did you come from?" Swirling her legs in the water, Phantom rapidly garnered enough seaweed to turn her legs into a thick glutinous mass of fibres. In the dark of the night, they looked like her legs had simply merged into a thick stump._

" _Home." It seemed the only word she knew._

" _So home is... home?" It made sense from the slightly abstract position she had come to expect. To Yusei and Akiza, Poppo Time was 'home' and the SRC was 'work'. When Phantom meant said home, she literally meant 'home' and nodded happily as the mass around her legs continued to thicken._

" _How did you find out about Yusei?" On the far horizon, clouds began appearing._

" _I heard tales of the Signers. Stories of bravery and solitude." Hitting the mass of seaweed against the breakwater, Phantom began to shake her legs free again. "So I tried to find ways to help. Runners and rumours, rumours and Runners." Adjusting her thinking, Musume slowly started seeing events from the perspective of the other figure on the wall._

" _Dilucesco? The trial?" Mysterious events started falling into place with an uneasy level of precision. "How did you even find out about me? Nobody except Yusei and Akiza even knew I woke up." For a long time, the sound of slow surf was the only thing to be heard._

" _Nobody sees me unless I make them." Not 'let them' but 'make them' see her. Without warning, the weeds around both legs suddenly turned into shackles that bound her movements through the water. Black clouds started into the beach now, cutting off the fragile light of the moon. Recognising the change, Musume grasped one black hand before thunder could start to rumble._

" _I saw you. On the rooftop, before you saved Luna." In an instant, the clouds stopped thickening. They didn't dissipate or lessen yet nor did they continue to increase. Looking down from the skies, she found her gaze lost in the endless depths of the ocean-blue eyes. "You were watching me. Why?" Phantom blinked first in a way that Musume recognised as flustered embarrassment and looked down at where Musume's hand still covered her own._

" _Everyone else was safe. Yliaster might have tried to come after you." With a suitable reason now in hand, she was able to make a better conversation of it. "You were an easier target."_

" _Really?" Folding her arms, Musume noticed the figure beside her instantly become more relaxed. Gripping the icy covering had been no picnic for her either but at least Phantom could have tried to keep the conversation going a bit more than she had. "What made me the easy target?"_

" _Celebrity brings safety." Answers came faster now that they could talk on an even standing. No endless quotes as Phantom looked out over the sea. "Anonymity only works when nobody knows who you are."_

" _What about you?" Taking the answer, Musume flipped it into a question and sent it straight back. "Does anyone know about you?" Memories of a smart mind communicating over the internet bubbled up. One with an irritating knack of knowing who people were. "Like Arg0nought?"_

" _You met." Satisfaction resounded in her voice. "Good. I had hoped you would." In a flash, Musume remembered what Yusei had explained about screennames – anyone could be behind them. Para5yte could have been on the other side of the planet just as easily as she could have been across the square. It appeared that they had been closer than they originally thought. Not two people, just a very careful one working all sorts of angles._

 _Musume wasn't stupid. From the minute Jack had told them vantablack was a recent invention, she had known someone had to have been behind the armour. And a ghost couldn't use a keyboard. If Para5yte had been working with/for Phantom, that would have explained it. But if there had only been one person all along, then she couldn't have made the armour by herself. Couldn't have used a phone to send those messages._

" _How long have you been like this?" Rapping a knuckle against the armour, it was obvious she didn't mean the representation of the armour. She meant inside the real armour, out there in the rest of the world. The last that they had heard from Para5yte was when she had sent Musume her new phone. And then she had seen a dark outline on a ship large enough for any number of people to hide out on. The first time that they had actually seen anything unusual had been the night before. Right when that sword had gone through Phantom's chest. "Since the roof?"_

" _Yes." For a moment, they sat and watched the waves as she adjusted to the news. Only two days ago, this had been a living, breathing person. Now, she was just a cold blue light in a suit of armour._

" _Then it was me. I did this to you." Considering how easily the truth had come before, she couldn't have expected the reaction that came._

" _No!" Lightning rained down and exploded a tree in the background, erupting the water into plumes of water which coated the sky. A dreadful wind sprang up, drawing up the largest wave that Musume had ever seen to come crashing down from above._

* * *

Gasping as if she was drowning, Musume threw herself back over the chair and rolled across the floor in blind panic Phantom suddenly tangled her limbs while she tried to understand exactly which part was meant to be which. In the midst of throwing herself towards the stairs, Yusei bashed his knee on one of the boards he had put up and felt the searing pain shoot through his leg as Akiza scrambled out from behind the sofa to help.

"What did she say to do when something went wrong?" Ignoring the reddening skin beneath his trousers, Yusei made a beeline for the armoured figure as Akiza dove for the thrashing one.

"To get a mop." Musume had a pounding headache and Phantom was struggling to figure out how to walk again but they had somehow managed to survive the insane method of communication. "How long were we under?"

"Maybe ten, fifteen?" A quick conference with Yusei solidified her number. "Fifteen seconds. Did you make any progress?" Brushing off his assistance, Musume limped over to where Phantom was struggling on the floor.

"We had a nice chat." Reaching down, she bodily lifted the dark outline so that legs dangled and the world seemed to right itself. "Phantom here is our very own guardian angel." Limbs drained into the right position and Phantom was able to stand upright on her own. "She's been keeping an eye out for us. Here," Holding out an object, she felt like it was the least she could do to make up for the irrevocable injury she had caused. "Looks like you could do with a hand." Looking down at the gauntlet, a flicker of a smile flashed inside the helmet.

 _Thank you._ Taking the item in her left hand, she carefully reattached it. _Sorry._

"Hey, to err is human." Four suspicious eyes turned to look at her. A few minutes ago, she would have sooner thrown a punch than lend a hand.

"You're being nice." Narrowing her eyes, Akiza looked back and forth between the pair. "You're never this nice. What did she tell you?" Having someone literally step inside her soul hadn't been as terrifying to Phantom as the warning look in those hazel eyes. "What did you do to her?!" Already edged into a corner, the armour started to sink down slightly as the figures kept looming in. Police officers by the hundreds had nothing on any mother protecting her child.

"Leave her alone." Surprised to see Musume's hand pulling her back, Akiza relented her glare. "It's my fault that she's like this. _That's_ what I found out."

 _No_. Rising to her feet, Phantom refuted the claim. _My_ _fault._ She refused to back down this time, even when Musume's own eyes started to glow in response.

"What are you both talking about?" Spacing out while the pair argued over whose fault it was, both Yusei and Akiza were curious about what they were actually trying to claim responsibility _for_.

"Remember how I said she exploded?" Until a few minutes ago, her working hypothesis had been that she had just momentarily dispelled a supernatural creature until it could reappear elsewhere. "Turns out, that was me cutting her soul out. I made her like this." Jabbing into her foot was the very weapon that had killed the person just trying to help her. It was a painful reminder of what had happened

 _No_. Regardless of who was to blame, the information had just joined the rest of the clues in Akiza's head. _Me._

"Yusei, a word?" Indicating through her tone that there was no discussion to be had with her. Following his partner back across the room, he noticed how she made sure to keep one eye on the pair the whole time. "There's something off about Phantom." Over by the table, the dark armour was caught like a deer in headlights as Musume continued to stare her down in an attempt to claim responsibility for her death. Or near-death. They hadn't reached the part where they figured out what she was yet. "I mean, other than all the usual stuff." In the current situation, no ideas were mad but she had a sneaking suspicion that wouldn't last. "She knows the right things, she's only quoted British and American authors. I know it's mad but I think that _she_ was actually a _he_. And I think _he_ was Obake." It was mostly down to a gut feeling but they were right nine times out of ten. But three other people in the room were ready to throw problems in her idea.

 _Obake?_ Finally able to break from the power of Musume's glare, she looked over with a slight whimper.

"Wow, that's some _great_ hearing." Realising the exact level of shit that he had just been dropped into, Yusei guessed that he probably wouldn't be getting any eggs to replaced the breakfast Musume had ruined in her mad lunge. "Yes, Obake." Turning on the spot, he noticed for the first time how Musume had managed to creep the handle of her sword out from one boot. "Do you know him?"

 _Bad man. Sad man._ It was the first semi-coherent answer she had given that wasn't a quote. _My fault._ Like her invisible smile, they didn't need a face to recognise the guilt and stress that mentioning Obake had put her under. It was obvious from her demeanour, the waves of raw depression and because she had just shattered a mixing bowl with one hand.

"Okay, okay." Easing the situation before Phantom could spiral again – without the remaining half of the police department around as an outlet – Akiza found the perfect middle-ground. "It was just a thought. I'm sorry if I upset you." That Phantom had reverted into a traumatised silence didn't alleviate Akiza's instinctive guilt one bit. It actually made it slightly worse. "How about if I make sure that he's alright?" It was a spur of the moment idea which solved all their problems. If he wasn't anywhere to be found, it proved her crazy theory. If she did happen to find him, that was fine as well.

"I'm not letting you go by yourself after last night." Any possible authority he had in their strange relationship vanished as he noticed the third word. And the twin death beams currently skewering into his brain indicated that she might have heard it as well. "I mean, let me call you a taxi to save you time." Her glower lessened by the barest fraction.

"Good idea." Several exotic forms of punishment she was currently devising would be forever lost to the misty marshes of history. No matter what plans people made, time had a way of tearing them down.

 _Wait._ Although radiating palpable levels of stress, Phantom dug through one of the drawers by the sink before drawing out a strange object. Tossing it through the air, she made sure that Akiza caught it. It was the most useful tool that she could offer under the circumstances. _Ariadne._ Exactly what use Phantom expected her to get from the item, she didn't know but Akiza pocketed it all the same.

* * *

 _ **For those wondering, the reason gut instinct is only right nine times out of ten is because the last one is just gas. Strange but true. Leave a review.**_


	50. Unpleasant Consequences

Getting to the SRC had been easy enough yet Akiza knew the real trick lay in trying to find her quarry. Instead of heading straight for the utility tunnels beneath the facilities, she decided to seek out anyone else who might have seen Obake. And – since Din hadn't been in his lab – there was only one other place he could have been.

What noise there had been in the dining hall practically died away as Akiza entered. Nobody wanted to meet her gaze. That should have been her first indication that something was wrong but she had assumed it was just nerves over the recent trial. Spotting her friendly group of social outcasts at a far table, she walked over and wasted no time on idle banter. "I need to talk to Obake." A few squirrely gazes stopped looking the other way. This had clearly not been the line of questioning they had expected. "Does anyone know where I can find him?"

"Who?" Grateful ignorance – two emotions he rarely expressed – crossed Din's face at the same time. He wasn't the only one.

"Tall guy, pale, wears a suit." Describing just about every vampire through fiction failed to make any progress. "Eats at the table with you?" No bells were being rung. "Wears a blindfold, pissed off Masayoshi?" There was a surprising amount of people who had pissed of the now-fired Masayoshi. Word was that his divorce was both gruelling and expensive. Nobody was sad, many were celebrating. "Dodged paying for the bar?" Recognition finally dawned.

"Ah, that" What Din said next was in a different language to avoid the severe repercussions of what it meant. It was a coping mechanism Obake himself had recommended. "I was worried you were here about the other thing." Stirring the pot was his favourite hobby. Dragging Akiza off her game was the next best thing. Doing both at once was just fun.

"No, I... What 'other thing'?" Everybody but the Japanese-illiterate Vlado became instantly shifty. A few glanced towards the most guilty party.

"Heh." Tom rubbed his perfectly clean jaw and tried to find somewhere to look that was safe from Akiza's glare. "You see, I may have started a small pool on if Yusei would get convicted or not." Bodies started edging away from the imminent explosion zone. "Some people told some other people and basically everyone ended up betting one way or the other."

"If it helps," Slowest with having to clamber into her exo-suit, Koharu tried to lessen the awkwardness. "Most of us bet Yusei would get off." Scientists love challenging other scientist's work. As soon as the first person had started to calculate the odds, thirty others had started working on their variations. Literally the same minute. Everyone had been invested in trying to help their friend, in their own weird ways.

"Most?" It had started with an attempt to lower the odds of their punishment and ended up basically sabotaging their collective futures. Koharu was glad to be able to slide down the length of the table and escape the brutal standoff. "Tom? How many bet against him?"

"Like, six? Seven?" A peculiar flame bloomed in one eye and forced Tom to make the number a lot more accurate. "Maybe eight?" Twin fires burnt in Akiza's gaze to finish the evasion. "Ninety-three. And since the pool had gotten some much interest, we might have started a second pool to bet on how long a sentence it might be."

"We?" The rest of her friends chose that moment to try and leave the table for good this time.

"Yeah, the others had to join in to keep up with the influx of customers." Any escape attempts stopped under the power of Akiza's sheer presence. "It got out of control when we got down to the third bet though." Time well spent in his incarceration had taught Tom he could only get into so much trouble before anything extra became superfluous. This lesson had not spread to the rest of the group who would have throttled him given half a chance. "I mean, a lot of people kinda guessed you and Yusei were a thing but we had no inside track for that IA2 thing. Some people guessed you would be fired, some bet Yusei would be fired, a _lot_ of people guessed one of you would quit to save the other. Nobody bet that you would be allowed to stay. It's kinda screwed everything up." There was any number of people in the building with advanced understandings of mathematics. Nobody could quite understand the full scope of Tom's complicated interconnected gambling network. "We've put the money in a trust for now. It's going to take a while to sort it all out."

"Just how much is it?" There were enough people in the SRC to make even a small bet end up with a huge pool at the end.

"Enough to fix Chris' bar, burn it down and then build it again." It was a slight exaggeration but not by much.

"I'll make sure to tell Yusei." Nobody was particularly worried about the fallout. Yusei was usually fairly forgiving as long as nothing was illegal and nobody was hurt. "Now, can you tell me where to find Obake or not?" Akiza could guess he was in the tunnels but her last attempt to navigate them had ended up on her mercy. She was really hoping that he was above ground.

Except that nobody had seen him since he had managed to slip out of his share of the bill. People tended to notice those who owed them money more than those who didn't. Realising that she would have to go into the tunnels again was only the fourth-worst event of the day. And actually going in would be the third.

It became (somewhat ironically) easier to see what Phantom had meant when she told Akiza 'Ariadne' and given her a ball of string when the lights cut off and she was left in complete darkness. Greek mythology told of the Minotaur's Labyrinth that was such a complex maze that nobody could escape it once they set foot inside. Ariadne had granted Prince Theseus a ball of twine to navigate his way through the maze. A passing thought tried not to compare the deadly creature hidden in the underground maze with the Minotaur from Greek mythology. It failed to not make the connection.

Especially when something lurked out at her, caused her to scream in instinctive panic and drop her torch to leave her stranded in darkness. Again. Her only 'consolation' – the word came out snidely in her mind – was that the looming spectre had appeared to exactly what she had been looking for. Which was a bit of a disappointment. She had been so sure she was right.

"Obake?" Heart pounding a bit faster now that she had dropped her torch, Akiza stared vainly into the dark.

"What do you want?" Something scraped by her feet as he retrieved the downed tool.

"I... We hadn't heard from you since the boat. We wanted to make sure you were okay." Mocking laughter filled the tunnel, all the more chilling for the lack of actual emotion in it.

"Really? 'We' forgot to tell 'us' about what how 'our' last meeting?" No anger, no hate, no rage. Just empty, echoing void inside the voice. "You managed to pop this thing from it's socket just enough to break the connection." It was simple enough to fix when visible but fumbling about in the dark would have taken her several minutes. She was also frustrated enough that she would have simply abandoned it and used the string to find her way back. "Here," Something was thrust into her hand and Akiza could feel the switch beneath one finger. "Take a look at how 'okay' my last encounter with your group went." Akiza hesitantly turned on the torch, keeping it partially shielded behind her hand to avoid blinding them both.

Obake was standing a few feet away. Hair was tousled, jacket absent. He was wearing a pair of jogging bottoms, just about the only thing he could put on unaided. It was possible to see many of the scars on his chest and stomach without a shirt covering them. Wrapped around his neck and dangled across his chest was a faded sling that was keeping the tension from his right arm, partially hidden beneath a white lab coat he had stolen from an SRC stockroom. Blood had already crusted over the right shoulder. Just to really round off the mismatched ensemble, he was still wearing the novelty sunglasses.

"What happened to you?" Akiza moved one step closer, Obake took two steps back. It was possible to take her on in a fight but the odds were not in his favour. She was also a doctor and knew all the parts of him that would hurt the most.

"Didn't you know? I was running an errand when I bumped into that lunatic friend of yours." Sadly, 'Lunatic friend' could apply to several people Akiza knew. That Obake had an arm in a sling limited it to Din, Jack, Musume and Crow. "Judging from how our conversation went, nobody mentioned the exact relationship I have with Yliaster." Reaching up his hand, he was able to peel back the stained fabric. "Crazy bitch shot me when I pointed out that not even the Signers are up to facing Yliaster in a direct fight."

Two thoughts went through her head when Akiza saw the wound. First, that it was definitely Musume who had attacked Obake. Second (and it was a shameful moment that Akiza admitted it was definitely the second thought) was the sheer extent of damage that had been inflicted. Pale skin turned a dangerous shade of strained red as swelling forced it into uncomfortable lumps and splotches. Puckered lines edged outwards from the hole that had been sewn shut from several sides and simply stapled on the back. "Let me look at that." One step forward, two steps back, taking away one of the least treated injuries she had ever seen. "It's a bad colour and looks to be getting worse. You'll be lucky to get away without further damage if we can get it help right away."

"It's clear that you're not really interested in helping others." Reaching around let him pull the coat back into position but sent shards of pain shooting through the wounded arm. "If things take a turn for the worse, at least I'll only be _dead_. Yliaster has people that know how to keep a body going for _hours_ before it finally gives out."

"You might only have a few days if you don't come with me now." Two steps forward, five steps back until Obake was nearly at a junction he could slip away down. "Yliaster can only make the job quicker if they find you first." An innocuous thought sent Obake's uncaring mind down an interesting new avenue of ideas.

"Maybe so. But that's not up to you." Then he stepped to one side, literally skipped two steps and slipped away down a tiny gap before Akiza could stop him.

* * *

After the gruesome evidence which had seemingly disproved her theory, Akiza was lucky enough to come home to a relatively normal scene. "Hey." Looking up from where she was learning how to do proper maintenance on the _Dilucesco_ , Musume scowled. Her goodwill and guilt only extended so far and actually have to take care of the machine was pushing them both to dangerous levels. Crouched a few feet away, Phantom was watching with patient eyes and giving advice when the unique machine presented any difficulties.

"How'd it go?" Careful to avoid actually saying any triggering names, Yusei was curious to know the answer. He'd been watching the pair from afar and thinking over Akiza's theory while she investigated it. By the time she walked back in through the door, he was half-sure that she was right.

"I'm going to be having a _talk_ with Musume later." Suddenly very interested in learning how to care for her gift, Musume mysteriously didn't hear the ultimatum. There was unlikely to be any slack cut when the other party wasn't trying to claim responsibility. "But it looks like I was wrong."

"We're just checking out Musume's Duel Runner." Although it had been put in the garage, nobody had actually ridden it. There was etiquette to follow and it hadn't been used since America. "It's an amazing machine. I'd really like to see it in action." A lot of the parts seemed to have been custom-made for the vehicle. Most looked slimmer than regular but gave the impression that they could hold up just as well as any out there.

"Nice." Taking a look through the exposed panel, Akiza was impressed by what she saw inside. "How about we try it out some time? I've wanted a rematch since our last Duel." Even though she would have technically won eight years ago, that damn truck would have certainly have killed her first.

"I'd like that." When she woke up that morning, Musume had been sure that any happy times in her life would have to be followed by unpleasant ones. In this case, she was right. At her side, Phantom straightened up.

Turning to face the wall, she frowned at something nobody else could perceive. _The policeman?_ Confused by her words, it wasn't until they heard the slow rumble of an engine pulling up outside a minute later that they realised what she meant.

"How did you know they were coming?" Leaving the tools and parts where they lay, Musume shrugged a jacket back into place as she rose to her own feet.

 _I_ _heard_ _them._ Whatever strange meaning she was putting on the word would have to wait for later.

"We should probably hide Phantom." Dressed in that bright boiler suit, she already looked the perfect part ofthe guilty prisoner and Yusei knew how quickly opinion could overrule facts.

"Way ahead of you." Helping her maintain balance as she peeled off the visible outfit, Musume was already starting to think of ways to get Phantom out without being seen. Unseeable armour or no, it was a lot easier to notice her outline during the light of day.

"I'll stall as long as I can." Hurrying up the ramp as quickly as he could, one hand pulled the right door open just enough to be visible while stopping any view of the inside proper. Standing with one hand raised to knock was exactly the person Phantom had declared would be there: 'the policeman'. "Officer Trudge." Smiling politely at the problem they were facing, Yusei made sure to put a good face on the situation. "What can I help you with today?" A pair of uniformed cops were standing just behind his friend. Having an audience gave him the perfect gambit for buying time. "For the record, I had _no idea_ Jack was going to do what he did."

"That's not why I'm..." Unable to help herself, he lurched straight into the trap. "Why? What did he do?"

"Or is this about the _thing_ Crow erm...?" Trying to give his friends as much time as he could meant throwing some shade on his brothers. It was no real difficulty, they both had their share of misdeeds already. "Is there a police code that means 'rubbed genitals against'? It's ironic but he's the only one of us who would probably know."

"Rubbed against..." Realising that he was being stalled, Trudge took control of the situation. "We're here in connection with the intruder down at the docks the other night." He made to step inside only for Yusei to block the entry.

"Do you have a warrant to come inside?" After the affairs of the past few weeks, he was clearly not overly eager to accommodate the whims of the legal system.

"Not if we have probable cause." Moving to step through the doorway once more, Trudge was met by the blocking arm directly across the doorway. "The intruder was last seen fleeing in the company of one of your associates." A fight was brewing between them for the first time ever. Not just a mere difference of circumstances or opinion. A real fight. It was obvious to the pair of officers standing behind him.

"Really? How exactly did two people manage to get past the police cordon without anyone seeing them?" Now there was a tricky point to explain. Claiming that the dark outfit of the intruder had let it slip away would have been easy enough. Explaining that it leapt through the skylight two stories high with a pursuer being carried on wings of ethereal origins would have consigned him to mandated therapy.

"Are you going to invite us in or do I have to come back later with a warrant and backup?" Drawing up against each other drew the dangerous conflict steadily closer.

"If that's what it's going to take," A quiet cough came from the main garage where Musume was trying to look as innocent as she could with large sunglasses obscuring her eyes. Whatever tricks they had been arranging were in place. "Then who am I to waste the city's resources?" Stepping out of the way, he held an arm out for Trudge to enter past. "Coffee?" It was said in a 'take the offer if you dare' sort of tone.

"Trudge." Trying to put the deadly air to rest, Akiza reached out a gentle hand to shake her eldest friend's. "It's good to see you again."

"Sorry about this." Nodding to Yusei's partner, he glared instructions at his subordinates. "Take a look around. Anywhere that a person can hide. You," Beneath the tinted helmet, it was possible to see the slightly refined features of a female face. "Make sure there's no funny business with Dr Izinski's belongings."

"Musume." Stepping off to one side, Yusei made sure that Trudge was occupied with keeping basic privacy intact before asking the important question. "Where is she?"

"Do us all a favour." Keeping her back turned, she was more focused on suppressing the protective instinct to look at the second most deadly person in the room. Having already won once, Musume knew that she was the better fighter. Obviously. "Don't look up."

Casually pulling out his phone, he surreptitiously used the blank reflection to check the ceiling above their heads. Poppo Time was an older approach to architecture. Simple, easy to fix, wooden beams for support. They had been slightly damaged during the abnormal course of events which had taken place over the course of recent history. Just enough to wedge in some fingers in a couple of places. In theory, it was possible to – with some difficulty – to suspend a light object between them.

"Don't ask how." Had Yusei not been blocking view from the door, it might have been possible to see a shadow suddenly slip from the floor into the air. "At least she knows how to think on her toes."

Leaning down the staircase from the upper floors, an unidentified helmet delivered a brief update. "Nobody in the bedrooms." Searching each of them had taken only a few seconds each. Besides under the beds or inside the narrow wardrobes, there were few places for a person to hide. A middle drawer had even been carefully removed to see if there was anyone hiding inside the desks. Less nimble criminals had tried more complicated bends. "We'll be checking in the attic next. Anything up there you want to tidy up first?" This last was directed more at the group of suspects than the supervising officer.

"You have free reign." Staring at his friend, Yusei was making it abundantly clear that he was cooperating as fully as was possible under the circumstances. "Watch out for the spiders." After a few seconds, there was the sound of a creaky hatch being pried open and slamming closed again.

"Off the record," With his underlings searching the dusty space under the roof, Trudge dropped the role of policeman in favour of trying to understand what was really going on. "What was all that about the other night?"

"We're not sure." Everything that had happened since that night at the docks had been slightly surreal. "She goes by 'Phantom'. Seems to be on our side." Talking about somebody literally hanging over your head is a strange experience. "Managed to break Luna and Musume out of a Shadow Duel before she attacked the docks."

"Tetsu, she was having a traumatic psychological episode." Akiza had been there a few times herself. Caused even more damage than Phantom had and ended up a hero of the city. "Whatever happened was not her fault. All that she knew was that people were attacking her." It was a tricky path for him to follow now. All of the legal decisions would have to be done afresh with this new information.

"What sort of episode? What was the trigger? Can you confirm a diagnosis?" Most police services had already been through the wringer once too often for people to plea temporary insanity to lighten the sentences. "I believe you. But how do you expect me to convince the department?" A fair point. Nobody would believe that a gibbering mess hidden inside a shadow had the ability to taken on scores of trained police officers. "I'll have to take her in for now, just until we can get everything sorted out."

"Trudge, you know what will happen if you do this." Neither man was exactly ignorant of the fact Yliaster could easily access any public organisation in the world. Even the SRC probably had a few leaks in it.

"I'll try to keep a grip on things but she injured fifty police officers." Each knew the arguments the other would present while recognising the futility on both sides. "Like it or not, your new friend is going to have to come with me."

"And have you thought," It would not do for the others to hear what could easily be misconstrued as a threat so Yusei lowered his voice until it was barely audible. "About what will happen if she doesn't _want_ to?" Images of the ruined warehouse flashed through their minds. That damage had been done by a Phantom driven partly mad by her transformation. Now she had regained some amount of control over her mind. A mind that was starting to recall the actions of the night before.

Dropping from the ceiling with that uncanny silence, the sudden appearance of his quarry landing in front Trudge gave him no little start. He may have said a stream of alarmed curses so heinous that all parties leaned backwards slightly in shock. At least three of them also grinned at the array. Trudge finally managed to calm down when he realised that he wasn't being bodily thrown like the night before. Which was good since he doubted there was another forklift on hand.

"Phantom, you don't have to," Yusei gave up as Trudge's gentle rumble overrode his advice. It was in his cop voice. Little could stop Officer Trudge.

"We'll be taking you to the Detention Centre for now." No station in the city would want to take Phantom after her disturbing first appearance. It would be straight to the Facility for her. "Official charges will be filed in the next few days and you'll get time with a judge to argue your case." Carefully holding out her hands, she watched as the silver loops were tightened about her wrists. They could be taken off in a matter of seconds but that would just endanger the good people around her again. That wouldn't do. "Is there anything that you need before we go?" Like the Signers, Trudge had also been under the scope of Phantom's silent observations. Although she hated the majority of police on principal, he was respectable in her eyes. When she didn't reply, he took it as confirmation that she was ready and summoned his searching officers with a sharp whistle.

"Rookie mistake." Regularly casting some doubt on the minds of his staff left them with plenty of room to grow. "You failed to sweep the first room. Your suspect could be hiding anywhere – even behind some ratty old couch." Four pairs of eyes turned to where the sofa by the stairs was pressed tightly against the wall. Not enough room to easily hide behind.

"Hey, Trudge." Although he was just a normal human being, the next few seconds of the future suddenly became intensely clear.

"Hold these." Carefully levering out his regulation Shock Baton, non-regulation baton, unregulated knuckledusters and dented yet shiny bade, Trudge stocked his personal equipment in the arms of the nearest police officer. "I'm going off-duty for a minute."

"Good call." Enough restraint went into the blow that it wasn't fatal but Trudge felt two teeth loosen as he smashed into the ground from a single blow. "Because it would be embarrassing for the entire police force to lose another fight again so soon." She might not have been the nicest person but she believed in taking care of her mistakes and Phantom was definitely one of the bigger ones.

 _Musume._ Looking directly at her, those blue circles flickered slightly. Just that one word of warning was enough to remind her that her actions could have unintended consequences.

"look, I'm sorry but this is the way it's got to be." Testing the rocking teeth with his tongue, Trudge couldn't taste any blood. There would still be a lengthy dentist session over the weekend though. "Can you at least give me a description of what they look like under there?" It was a tense moment. Even their lengthy history together could only garner so much trust against the weight of reality. Bigger oddities – like a city falling from the sky – where generally easier to accept than the strange new weirdness in their midst.

"A big blob of blue light." At least Musume had no qualms against showing off weirdness. With a shiny new magic sword tucked away in one boot and Trudge's blood still crusting on her fist, she was also in no mood to play games. "Because somebody cut her soul from her body. Oh, wait. That's my bad."

"There is no way you're not related to Crow." Nobody who knew the pair that could miss that same streak of angry sarcasm in them both. "You have my word, I'll personally deliver her to the Facility. Nobody gets in there without getting caught on at least three cameras." It was cute how prisons liked to brag how secure they were but always downplayed the escapes.

As the pair of cars drove off, Akiza turned to try and calm Musume down. This was difficult on two counts; Musume didn't 'calm' easily and there was a distracting absence of her anywhere in the city.

* * *

True to his word, Trudge had delivered his prisoner to the facility. During the entire trip – and despite his best attempts – she hadn't said a single word to him. Even when she was signed over to a fully kitted squad of twenty. But as soon as the group was inside the Facility, he lost all control over events. And events started to spiral when one of the guards broke protocol by speaking.

"Five of my friends are in the hospital because of you." It didn't take a genius to hear the hate in the man's voice. Phantom did everything she could to tune it out and listen to something, anything else. "One of them is being investigated for substance abuse because the doctors caught something in his bloodwork. So a guy's got to take a little something extra to do his job but that man has a new baby dammit!"

 _Lucky him._ There are two factors to speaking the truth. Using the right words and waiting for the right moment. Although the sentiment was definitely there, those were not the right words for that moment.

"One more word," Waiting until one dark leg was clearly moving forward, he kicked behind the knee of the other so that Phantom stumbled to the ground in her manacles. "And I'll personally lock you in solitary and throw away the key."

 _No violence._ Fear resonated in her ethereal voice. Being an ignorant male, the guard thought it was directed at him.

"I will hit you as much as I want." Rapping the butt of his baton against the base of her helmet, vindictive satisfaction flooded through the insignificant man. "You think you're so tough with that armour. Just wait until our guys peel it off you."

 _Unlikely._ Talking to people was really not her forte. The small group came to an empty cell somewhere on the third floor from the bottom. Phantom liked that. Three was her favourite number. There were even randomly overlapping bars on the door to make escape more difficult! She liked that too.

As Musume had noticed from the very start, Phantom was not exactly normal.

"This is your stop." Holding the door open for Phantom to walk through, her misogynistic guide slammed it shut behind almost before she was fully in the cell. He had also neglected to remove her bindings.

 _Keys?_ A pair of gaps at elbow height was just large enough to squeeze either hand through.

"Yeah, we have the keys." Sarcasm was something else that Phantom did not instantly get. It was that momentary pause of confusion that allowed her jailer to uncouple the sturdy chains from around her right wrist, loop them through the bars and then clasp it back into place.

 _That is not right._ Duplicity and deceit were more quickly understood. Especially when the guards started drawing their batons.

"We heard through a few old friends on the force that you were comfortably nestled up with that upstart, Fudo." Keywords were being picked up through the cruel haze the group was projecting. 'Force' instead of 'service'. 'Upstart Fudo'. Either through accident or by cruel design, Phantom had ended up in the hands of a group of very angry men who liked nothing about her.

 _Bad idea._ There was little room to move with her hands chained between the bars. The handcuffs were tightly anchored about the metal struts.

"You sound scared." Something about testosterone makes men at once very aggressive and very stupid. "Don't worry." Stabbing a baton through a hole in the grill, the head guard smashed Phantom in the midriff. "We'll take good care of you." Another guard was quick to join in. Then it was an all-out scrum to see who could do the most damage. Somebody had the odd idea of crouching down to get the ankles and quickly knocked away her legs until Phantom was just dangling from her chained arm.

What they should have noticed – had the guards been slightly more competent at their jobs – was that Phantom wasn't even trying to fight back. They had no way of knowing that the armour was physically empty and the blows were doing little more than a fly buzzing fluttering acorss the in the city was. Or that Phantom was actually willing to accept the beating because she had hurt their friends in her earlier confusion.

"That's enough." After a few minutes, the worst guard among them finally grew weary and took the opportunity to mock as time for breathing. "Look at me." Phantom continued to hang her head. She was not proud but weary of the violence in their actions. "Hey," Even the tiniest of actions can have the largest of consequences. "Look at me!" Musume had noticed the slight line running down the front of the helmet to allow a nose to scrape inside. It was as the rounded tip the weapon grazed past it that Phantom went utterly still.

She was aware that something had changed. Maybe she was less human that day as the ones before. Losing her body might have cursed her in unexplainable ways but it had unexpected benefits as well. Something had definitely changed in her but Phantom was still the same person beneath it all and still bore the same invisible scars. Grasping out between the bars, she grabbed the lapels of the guard as both feet found purchase on the dirty floor of her cell.

" **Let go!** " It was a pathetic creature in her grip. So deeply angry at women, thinking them above their place in life. Such pride but with nothing to be proud of. So violent without reason. "I said," Phantom dragged him into the irregular bars of the door so fast that blood exploded from his nose as several teeth and a cheekbone were shattered. Another impact dislodged the jaw and sliced a chunk from the tip of the gagging tongue. It was the third impact that knocked the defenceless man into a stupor as he dangled in her grasp. Then she hurled him back so fast that the railing behind bent slightly as his pudgy backside hit it, sending the guard tumbling over and over to the vast floor below where a sickening crack marked the impact.

A wild screaming and cacophony of voices began as the other prisoners caught wind of what was going on. Word spread like lightning through the complex and everyone knew some form of the tale before medics were even on the scene. She could hear the trembling beat of his heart behind broken ribs three floors done but knew he stood a chance of recovery. Reaching around to her right wrist, she tore the metal restraint off without any sign of effort and pulled her arms into the cell.

Flocks of guards swarmed outside the stone cube as they screamed instructions and tried to sound authoritative without daring to actually enter the cell. Phantom just sat on her concrete slab with hands dangling between knees as she played with the links of chain still attached to one wrist. Understanding that she was different, that she had issues and triggers that had to be dealt with on a daily basis, did nothing to stop them from controlling her life. As the shouting and the blustering continued on the other side of the bars that were protecting them from the dangerous prisoner, she sat there and let herself sink into an examination of the metal coils to block out the world outside.

* * *

 _ **Just to say, shit's about to get weird. Abandon sanity all who enter here. (But if you've made it this far, you're probably a bit mad anyway. Mad enough to leave a review?)**_


	51. Convergence: Phantom

Entering the impossible bar had been to serve two purposes. Firstly was her desire to find out more about the latest intruder into her circle of life. The other - and far more pressing reason - was because Akiza had been on the verge of delivering a blistering lecture. She could tell by the veins pounding in her neck, the way her eyes had hardened and the way she disapproved of shooting people. Honestly, this was probably for the best.

"Heeey." Slowly perching herself on a stool, Musume tried to figure out just how real her companions were. During her last visit, she had become so utterly intoxicated on 'mostly apples' that a rainbow elephant with Jack's face would have made perfect sense. That didn't make seeing one of her new friends any easier. "How're things?" Ryan wasn't present but her other two friends were waiting in their seats.

 **Well enough.** There are certain people that everyone should be polite to. Although her list was usually kept brutally short, Musume had taken the time to extend it by a couple of names. **Have you recovered from your last visit? I have not known many people who could survive the amount of drinking that you did.** When this man(?) said so, she knew that made her a rarity.

"Errr, I don't think that I caught your name?" She wasn't scared, she wasn't scared, _he's reaching for a knife, run away,_ _RRUUUUUUNN!_ Then her brain toned down the terrified voice in her head and she realised it was just a normal piece of cutlery, not the instrument of her doom.

"My friend is called Bill, when he's not working." From the other side of that black robe was the equally dark-clothed storyteller with eyes twinkling as he recognised the look on her face. "And I'm Terry to my friends in this place." Pressing that magnificent hat to his chest, he gave as low a bow as was possible with the counter in the way. "Of which I would be honoured to include you."

"Musume?" Suddenly springing up on the other side of the bar, Himeru seemed surprised to see her new customer. "What are you doing here?" Was that a touch of relief on her face? It couldn't have been.

"What?" Thankful for the distraction from the ominous – yet somehow friendly – aura of 'Bill', she seized on the opportunity to talk about anything else. "I needed to check out a few things. Thought that maybe you could help me." Her first visit to the bar had been fun enough but Himeru had implied that she would be willing to provide answers to questions that might otherwise go unanswered. Maybe she would be able to give an insight into just what Phantom was.

Noting the expression on Musume's face – between nervous glances as Bill began tucking into a heaping bowl of colourful curry – Himeru carefully pulled a cocktail mixer from a shelf and began topping it up with various ingredients. "Pornstar?" Pouring the resulting orange mix into a wide cocktail glass and adding a slice of fruit to float atop the pool, she slid it across the bar to Musume.

"What did you call me?" Of the many morally questionable aspects of her life, she had never even thought about such things. Being called that word was enough to snap her out of the shock at seeing Bill apparently relishing every chomp of his dish.

"Passion fruit purée, pineapple juice, caramel and vanilla syrup with a slice of passion fruit." Tapping the rim of the glass, Himeru actually chuckled at the obvious discomfort. "It is called a fruity pornstar. I thought that you might have had enough alcohol on your last visit."

"And you thought that a," Unable to say the name without her cheeks colouring, she leaned in to give it a tentative sniff. For a mix of various fruits, it had an alluring aroma. " _This drink_ was appropriate?" Blood, gore, apocalypse-level events were all fine but she couldn't bring herself to say that particular word.

"A fruity pornstar usually breaks the ice rather well." Were her cheeks getting warmer or was that just the supernatural energies coursing through her skull? Judging from the way Himeru was biting her lips to keep from laughing, it wasn't the latter. "Was there anything that you wanted to discuss or would you like a different drink first? I am sure that a,"

"NO!" Unable to help herself, Musume actually shouted the refusal as that shaker was taken down from the shelf once more. "I mean," A lot of heads had turned to look at her and she could see in a few reflective surfaces that her face was definitely not its normal colour. She couldn't take another raunchily named drink with everyone watching. "I'm fine with... this one." _Just remember that you're here to get answers. Focus on the questions and not on what the drink's called._ Which could have been good advice to herself had that tiny part of her that felt the need to screw everything up stepped in and whispered _Fruity pornstar_ in her ear.

"Are you sure?" Folding her arms on the counter, Himeru laid her cheek against them and smiled jovially at her customer. Musume had simply let her embarrassed face hide against the surprisingly clean surface and wrapped her hands atop her hair as the stares continued. She would have normally just punched anyone looking her way until they stopped but a lot of the people in the room gave the impression they could match her. "You look a little peaky. Maybe a glass of warm milk?" For the first time in her life, Musume was dealing with a situation that she couldn't force her way out of.

"Stop teasing the poor lady." Even though he was gallantly coming to her rescue, she would have preferred that Terry not sound so amused. "I'm sure that she only came here to ask a few questions and not to be embarrassed in front of everyone."

"But, Ter- _rence_ , it is so much more fun this way." Giving a bitter sigh and a pout, she pulled up a stool of her own on the far side of the counter. "Okay then, you can sit up. I promise to behave." Staying perfectly still was the only indication that her guest was containing her embarrassment by ignoring everyone else in the room. Many people tried to ignore reality when embarrassed but the bar made that easy. "Or would you like a"

"I'm fine!" Sitting up so fast that her chair actually moved slightly, it was difficult to keep her pride intact when she couldn't retaliate to defend it. "No more drinks!" Terry actually chuckled at her flustered appearance as Himeru pretended to be sorry. She didn't quite sell it.

"So then," Giving a hearty smile, she leaned in slightly. "What can I help you with?"

"I just," A few more heads had turned her way when Musume bolted upright and she was forced to rein her temper in again. "Need to know more about Phantom." For an instant, that smile twisted slightly. Not in a good or bad way but a definite grimace that smoothed away too quickly to be called out. "What is she?" Few people could ever hope to gain Musume's trust and she was extremely careful who she kept company with. Somebody who had been manipulating her family from afar was not welcome in their ranks.

"Brain in a jar." A deadpan look cut through some of the bland sarcasm being spewed Musume's way as the bartender rested in her chair. "Dash of autism, a sprinkle of paranoia, makes a mean omelette." If she let the bartender spout drivel, it would take a long while to get any real answers.

"Look, I'm tired and it's been a long day. Can't you just tell me so I can go home and get some sleep?" When in doubt, play the guilt card. It had earned her bed, board and allowance from no fewer than four people so far. A few answers should be easy enough to extort.

"You are, it has been and you do not plan on sleeping." Spreading out both hands in a 'what of it' gesture, it was apparent that Himeru had a perfect grasp of the situation already. "However, since you refused to order a drink," Would she have to endure this level of nonsense every time she needed answers? Musume hoped not. It was almost worth finding things out the normal way. "I will explain your questions as best I can."

"Okay then. Here's the big one." Lifting the sword onto the counter, she gambled that such a powerful place had no need of the weapon. Either she would get a straight answer or the blade would be as much use as a toothpick to someone who had bumped her forward by two days without any effort. "What happened up on that roof?"

"Ah." Such a noise of satisfaction was almost embarrassing to hear. "There you are." Gently reaching out, she paused as Musume dragged the sheath back away.

"I wouldn't do that." Smiling across the gap came a calming reassurance she could only imagine was born from ignorance. "According to what I've read, only the owner can handle this sword." Although she hadn't got any paperwork when collecting it, Musume was fairly sure that being the last one standing in a fight had given her the right to hold it.

"Yawarakai-Te or the 'Tender Hands', as it is otherwise called." Carefully wrapping her pianist fingers around the top of the sheath, one careful thumb exposed a shining length of the blade under the warm light of the various light sources. "A little faded with age but still good." Letting the blade slid itself back to concealment, she nudged it across the counter for Musume to take back. "Considering what else you have read, what would _you_ say happened?" It was obvious she was going for an angle of leading towards answers instead of sharing.

"Look, the stories say something about cutting bad things and not good ones." Legends surrounding the sword were far from common but they almost unanimously agreed that the blade was a picky weapon. Anything evil was at risk of being cut while innocent beings were reportedly safe. "Nothing about people exploding and coming back as some damn ghost!" A tiny quirk appeared on those perfect lips for a moment. "Just tell me what happened so I can get on with it." All the mystic mumbo-jumbo in the world could be boiled down into simple explanations. Having a god and a devil inside her had taken away a lot of the glamour from anything legendary.

"As you said, that blade does not cut things that are good. But, how do you think that it discerns the difference? If knives are 'bad' then is a scalpel? If people are 'good' then what about murderers? It depends on what the wielder believes. Chasing Yliaster meant a lot of hardships that your friend had not expected. Things happened, some very bad." Musume had guessed that her newest mystery had been through the ring a few times when Jack threatened to move her. Another explosion had been less expected than physical retaliation but she had learned to roll with the crazy punches. "In order to cope, a lot of walls were put up until they became a very different person." A lot of people – including one who was currently sitting in a reinforced cell deep beneath the ground – would have said the result was a bad person. "When that blade stabbed through their heart (literally right through it, I was amazed by that) she was let free from all the bad stuff. For the first time in a long time – maybe their entire life – they are who they are and nothing else." With the burdens she was carrying, Musume wondered what would happen to her if she suddenly returned to normal. It would definitely involve an adjustment period.

"And what was that thing she did?" At the time, it had seemed like a hiccup in the world. Whatever it was, it was weird. And weird things had a habit of being dangerous.

Pausing to consider the question, Himeru was slow to give her answer. "Her autism has always allowed her to perceive a lot more than most people but it is a struggle to control." That certainly tracked with the crash course Musume had taken in the condition. "Now that she is able to interact with the world, she can make tiny changes. Make _this_ place a bit hotter, change _that_ breeze slightly. Make one spot briefly connect to another."

"So she can teleport?" It said a lot about her life that she wasn't particularly excited by the news. She could do it, Luna could do it. Heck, they could move to an entirely different plane of existence. Teleportation was nothing by comparison.

"Not exactly. More like make a door between two nearby places." And then step through. To Musume's understanding, that was not much different. "But she does not know it yet. Try to avoid letting Jack forcing her into a corner. It might not end well next time."

"Okay, I get your point." Which made one out of seven. The others would have to learn it the slower way. "Any pointers on how to approach her?"

"Ha! 'Approach'. I like it." Folded fingers patted against crossed arms as options were weighed. "Explain if she screws up and tell her how to be better. Do not assume that she always understands people. Let her know the truth because she can tell when you lie. But, if _really_ you want my advice," Whatever she was trying to say seemed to be a great burden to the ageless face as the smile vanished. "It would be better for you if you told her to go to the safest place she knows in the city and wait for you."

"For how long?" Not that it needed an answer. An open order like that was one-way: wait there until you get sent for.

"Until she believes the situation is urgent enough." Turning to serve the thin figure beside the old storyteller hid Himeru's face from observation. "I cannot divert events or even change your mind but it would be... easier for you if she was sent away."

"Fine. I'll remember that." But she was quietly promising never to do such a thing. Musume had been sent away herself once. It was a feeling that you could never really shake. To be deemed tainted, faulty, unwanted. "Any other nuggets of information before I go back?"

"... Right now, her mind is in chaos." Apparently sensing the silent vow that had been made, Himeru appeared to take it in stride as she began giving outright helpful information. "It is not your fault, just an unfortunate effect of what happened. Having something to hang onto, a reference point to work from, will greatly speed up the process of putting everything back in place." As she delivered the information, Himeru darted up and down the bar to deliver orders to her other patrons. Just because she was keeping an eye out for Musume did not mean that she was stopping the rest of her business. "It is part of the reason that she keeps speaking so strangely. Keep a close eye on her for a while and she should be right as rain."

"Thanks." Getting the information the normal way would have taken a lot of observation and lengthy research periods. It was almost worth being offered a... that drink. "I'll see you around." Pausing at the far end of the bar, Himeru flickered back to the spot closest to her newest customer.

"Ah, I meant... afterwards." Even through the literally cosmic differences between the bartender and the ginger Duellist, they had the same tone that came with trying to gently break bad news. When Crow had quietly told his young Musume that he was 'under the weather' and that was the reason he needed so much rest lately, it had been in that tone. When he had told her that the oxygen tank would only be needed for 'a little while', it had been in that tone.

"What do you mean by 'afterwards', exactly?"Since Himeru was unlikely to be dying, it was the precursor tone to bad news. Extremely bad news.

"This is going to be difficult to understand." Even the most future-blind person would be able to see Musume about to lose her temper when she heard the news. "But you no longer technically," Holding up a finger on either side of the word, she framed it in an effort to impart that it was a momentary problem which would be fixed in due course. "Exist outside of this place. _Technically_." Repeating the word did nothing to eliminate the problem.

"What does 'technically' mean," Carefully wrapping her palm about that handle, she slowly pulled it out of the sheath. " _Exactly_?"

"Well," Taking one step backward, Himeru managed to cover at least two metres. There was a fire in that gaze that unsettled everyone who saw it. "Would it suffice to say that Yusei is to blame?" Being able to pin her predicament on the man she hated most in the world definitely appealed to Musume but not as much as having her freedom restored. "It was really down to your good timing that you came here instead of what would have happened." Considering her relieved surprise when Musume had first shown up, whatever 'would have happened' was probably unpleasant. But it also might have meant that she was closer to her family. Which is why she was about to do something rather rash.

"I'm guessing that you can send me back." As she took two steps forward, Himeru took three steps back until she was nudging against the far end of the impossibly dimensioned bar. "So you'd better get on that before I have to come over there and convince you." With no more room to retreat, the owner carefully tried to minimise her target area into as small a form as she could.

"Can we just talk about this for five seconds?" Drawing back her arm with the handle pinched between thumb and fingers, Musume sent it hurtling down the alleyway as her temper unbalanced the careful mesh of energies seeping through her body.

 **This is certainly unusual entertainment.** Using a Peshwari naan to sweep up the rest of his curry, Bill was enjoying the spectacle with a smile that only he could pull off. **But how did you plan on getting back if she is dead?** Hunkered down at the far end of the galley, Himeru was looking at the sword gently vibrating an inch from her shoulder. It had been either a close call or a miraculously good shot.

"I cannot believe that you did that." Careful not to cut herself on the gleaming metal, Himeru carefully pulled the sword from where it had wedged between two panels of wood. "I mean, you threw a sword like some sort of Jack." Taking two steps to stand back against Musume, she held out the weapon on two very careful fingers. "Look, just because I cannot help you right now does not mean that you will be stuck here indefinitely. Sit down, have a drink." Smiling slightly as the blade was picked up and instantly held against her throat, she expressed no hint of fear or anxiety. "And let us talk about what happens next."

* * *

 ** _Non-existence is certainly one way to avoid a scolding. Or leaving a review._**


	52. Home Turf

For reasons that couldn't be readily grasped by a certain mindset, the Chinese government had taken a negative view on anyone involved with the recent capture of several dozen Rare Hunters. The leaders, their aides, the new recruits, a well-intentioned spy who was intent on taking them down. It was if they wouldn't believe every ridiculous excuse that was presented to them by a horde of screaming convicts. Strange.

Checks were being carried out at every port, both sea and air. Anyone with with even a single Duel Monsters card was being questioned and anyone with anything even Semi-Rare was being held without charge while they were tested for authenticity. It was turning out to be the single largest anti-piracy operation in history. A thousand people had been arrested overnight and the sheer volume of information would keep police forces across the world busy for months.

"You going to buy that or what?" Looking up from the newspaper cover he had been reading, Jaden wordlessly handed over a loose handful of change. Totalling it up with a trained eye, the newsagent gave a sour grunt as he slipped the coins into one pocket.

Getting out of China hadn't been an easy feat. It had involved forests, a thick jacket, several protein packs and a thermal blanket at nights. Luckily, since he had also sneaked _into_ China avoid any Rare Hunters from seeing his passport in use, he had been able to take a plane from Mongolia right to Domino City without customs so much as batting an eyelid. All the while, three thoughts had been burning in his mind. That the leader of the Rare Hunters, 'Outlaw', had directed him to return to Domino City to find answers. That he had known all along that Jaden had been coming. And that all his efforts for the past few years had been overshadowed by the one raid.

The last point was especially irritating. Jaden knew that he had done a lot of good for a lot of people and nothing could take that away but it felt like someone else had suddenly jumped in at the end and claimed all the credit. He wasn't in it for any sort of recognition but disliked the sort of people who would take it at the expense of another. At least he was able to relax in his own house for the first time in a long time.

The Yuki family had kept an apartment in the city since he was a kid. It was where he had grown up, only a few miles away from the original King of Games. It was where they had celebrated his first birthday, his first day of school, getting his first pack of cards. But not all the memories were happy ones. It was also where Yubel had first manifested, the first indication that he was not a normal child, the first sign that he would do things that most people couldn't imagine.

" _I will apologise as long as it takes._ " Invisible to everyone but a handful of people, Yubel appeared behind him as they approached the street he had grown up on. " _But I was just trying to protect you and didn't understand that it was just a game at the time._ "

"It's fine." In the first year on the road, they had talked a lot about all the things that had happened while they were apart. She had wanted to learn about his life without her and he had tried to sympathise with the hurt she had endured. "Ancient history."

" _You do know that we were actually part of ancient history in our previous lives?_ " Keeping a steady hover, she was keeping an eye on their surroundings. It would allow her to spot any sort of danger before Jaden's own eyes.

"And in another world." Even after actually setting foot there – or at least in some amalgamation of it and others – the idea still brought a goofy smile to his face. It was sort of appropriate. In his last life, he had been a prince of some undefined kingdom. In this one, he was the ill-recognised King of Games with a very different title. After all, what else was a prince but an 'Uncrowned King'? In a more buoyant frame of mind, he finally reached the street that his house was on. Even from halfway down the block, it was instantly clear that his comfy – albeit dusty – bed would have to wait for a while longer.

Standing outside the building were a pair of suits that particularly screamed 'shady'. Each one was wearing tinted sunglasses and listening to the sort of earpieces that weren't sold most shops. One blonde, one brunette. "Hey." One of them noticed his coming and nudged his partner. "That's the guy." Stepping away from the building, they started in his direction.

An alarming list of people could be interested in him. Of those involved, only a small handful probably had innocent intentions. "Hey, wait!" Wisely decided that prudence was the better part of bravery, Jaden crossed the street at speeds and hit a narrow alleyway at faster ones.

There are intricate details in architecture that design and designer alike cannot account for. How time and windfall will sweep rain against one side of a rarely cleaned alleyway and cause a thin veneer of moss to form. Which walls are going to endure a reversing car and end up with a gap big enough to jump through. Only the people who had spent years growing up in the neighbourhood would know these crucial details. So even if his pursuers had longer legs and better stamina, Jaden was able to keep ahead while they slipped and tripped in his trail.

It wasn't much of a lead. Maybe ten seconds. But one of those many details he had learned as a child was exactly which two metal railings in the fence just around the corner looked solid but weren't actually secured at the bottom. "Sorry, Pharaoh." Already irate at being jostled in the sprint, the big tabby was eager to leave the confines of the sack and readily slip between twigs and branches of thick bushes on the other side of the barrier. Tossing his bag over the top of the leafy blockade, Jaden dropped to his stomach and wriggled through a tiny gap between thorny branches and damp mud.

One thing that years of sneaking into the park through an illicit back entrance cannot prepare for was when thick rose bushes were planted on the other side when you weren't looking.

Forcing aside brambles and branches, his feet slipped between the loose railings as his pursuers rounded the corner. It didn't matter if they saw his direction for two reasons. Firstly, because there were several ways out of the park he could reach before they managed to follow him through. For another, they had just been the welcoming party. Their boss had a better grasp of strategy. He was famous for it.

"The local council planted them a couple of years." Sitting quietly on a bench near where Jaden was trying to dig himself out of the foliage, a quiet reader had picked up the paper from his backpack and started browsing the front page. "Good work on the Rare Hunters." Looking down at the cat curling around both legs, he made no move to stroke it as he rose to both feet. Such a chubby creature tolerated only a few people. Just because it was pressing itself against his leg didn't mean that it would claw his hand off. "We couldn't have done it without you." Reaching down as Jaden finally managed to force himself free, a grim face pretended not to notice the numerous twigs and leaves still stuck in that crazy hair.

"Yugi?" Gripping the palm, he was pulled upright by a strong Duelling arm. "What are you doing here?" They hadn't met in person since Jaden had started looking into the Rare Hunters. It had been Yugi who vouched for his contact inside the organisation but the possibility of actual meetings had been scant. Both had their own international schedules and being in the same country was rarer than some of their cards.

"It's time we had a talk. Come on, let's go to my place." From the other side of the hedge came sharp yelps of pain and discomfort. Unable to locate the loose railings, the pursuers had assumed their quarry had jumped the fence and slid underneath. They hadn't managed to fit into the narrow gap and were painfully paying for their hubris. "Once Joey and Tristan managed to get themselves out of the shrubbery." Another rustling resulted in one falling atop the other and both undergoing another painful series of jabs.

* * *

Once they had relocated to safer surroundings in the cramped apartment above Kame Game, Jaden was given a seat while Yugi set a kettle to boil and poured two cups of coffee. Old Solomon Mutou was out somewhere about the town and Joey and Tristan were taking advantage of the empty house to help each other pick thorns from their bodies. "I'm sorry for not letting you know about the raid." Setting a mug down in front of Jaden, Yugi gently sat on the other side of the table. Even though they were only inches away from one another, a vast distance still separated them yet. "We couldn't take the chance of anyone finding out. It would have been suspicious if one of the final contestants didn't show up and anyone looking too closely might have realised who you are."

"No problem." Wrapping both hands around the warm drink, Jaden gave one of his charming smiles. Everything was alright if it was Yugi was calling the shots. "Did Outlaw get away okay?" Even though he hadn't been told to prepare an escape plan in advance, it was more likely that the traitorous leader of the Rare Hunters had plenty of warning. Judging from the way he had spoken to himself, he had been wearing a wire of some sort.

"Outlaw?" A look of slight puzzlement crossed the more experienced face for a moment. "Ah. ' _Outlaw_ '. Is that what he's calling himself these days?" Moving past the momentary confusion, they actually had a far more important matter to deal with. "Tell me, did you happen to notice anything strange during your Duel?" Sipping at his drink, that implacable game face had gone up between heartbeats.

"How did you know about that?" Nobody had seen what card he had actually drawn yet Outlaw had known that it was a new addition. And now, Yugi somehow knew that it had happened as well. Appearing over one shoulder, Yubel spread out her wings in a defensive barrier to shield Jaden from behind.

"Would you care to deal out your cards?" Resting his mug in the air on a leaning elbow, lilac irises flickered for a second over Jaden's shoulder. If they had been a hit higher, he might have assumed that Yugi had been looking at the invisible Duel Spirit.

"Sure." Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out the thick Deck. Peeling each card from the pile, one at a time, he carefully stacked them back down on the table. On the other side of the platform, Yugi slowly finished off his drink. "See? It was probably just a card that got mixed in by accident." Unconvinced eyes stared back at him.

"Do it again." A note of steel entered his voice as Yugi stood back up to get himself a fresh cup of coffee. "As fast as you can, this time." Confused and a little insulted, he began slipping through the cards at speeds that he hadn't used since his few rare ventures onto the professional circuits after leaving Duel Academy.

Just to underscore his performance, he started calling out the names as he went. By the time he was halfway through, he was running out of air. "Avian, Necroshade, Dandylion." Pausing at the fluffy little creature, he could also feel a cramp building in his hand. "Can I at least have my coffee before it gets cold?"

"You said Dandylion?" Still staring out of the window, Yugi seemed oblivious to everything that wasn't on his mysterious agenda. "Check it again." Looking back at the card, Jaden realised that he had called it out wrong. This was one of his Elemental Hero monsters.

"Sorry." It appeared that the original King of Games had a few tricks that he hadn't passed on. Maybe he was using the reflection in the window? Whatever it was, Jaden would have to learn the trick if he wanted to live up to his legacy. "It's Elemental Hero..." Then he realised that, while this _was_ an Elemental Hero monster, it _wasn't_ one of his cards. "What's going on?" Looking back at, he saw a flicker of an emotion cross Yugi's face. Not one that many people had ever or would ever have.

"You're drawing cards that shouldn't exist. Not here, not now." Taking his seat again, he reached across and took the card from Jaden's fingers. "This is just a symptom that something had gone deeply wrong." Looking at the card for a minute, his mind went a million other places in the maze of his memories.

"Yugi, tell me what's happening." Jaden admired his idol – and always would – but had lost the blind hero-worship since his adventures and mistakes at Duel Academy.

"Providing you do as well as you did last time, our different paths will finally meet each other and go forward together." Passing the card back over, it had transformed back into Dandylion since leaving Jaden's hand. "In a few days, Yusei is going to ask for your help. Do exactly what he says. It's important."

"What do you... Yusei?" Everything was a whirl. Between the changing cards and sudden freedom from his hunt of the Rare Hunters, this was nearly the last straw. "What's he got to do with it?" Not that he wasn't instantly looking forward to seeing his old friend but they had never expected to see him again.

"That's not my tale to tell." Stacking the cards back into a pile, he held them out for Jaden to take back. "But he's currently in more trouble than you can imagine." Not trouble in the ways that they had come to expect. Far more dangerous and insidious than anyone could expect.

* * *

In his own time, Yusei Fudo woke up and had a perfectly normal morning. He got out of bed. Went into the bathroom. Had a shower. Cleaned his teeth, shaved off the stubble that had accumulated over the course of the night, rinsed off his face. Put on clean clothes, put his dirty clothes in a laundry bin for later, straightened up his duvet. Did all the normal things that he did every morning and had done for hundreds before that one.

Walked out of his room, spent a few minutes fussing over Hoshi as she rolled on her back and demanded a bellyrub. Enjoyed the smell of cooked coffee beans that filled the room. Watched as the cat rolled to her tiny paws and fled with a hiss as quiet footsteps approached.

"Damn." A gentle form stood over him. "I really thought that she might finally be coming around." Tinges of resigned disappointment coloured the husky voice.

"Give it time." Rising to his feet with a slight wobble, he accepted the cup of caffeine waiting nearby with a grateful smile. "She'll come around."

"I hope so." Tender grey eyes looked at the snarling cat as she backed towards the stairs. "Do you have any idea how irritating it is trying to live with your boyfriend when the other woman keeps stopping by?" A mock scowl was set on the usually calm face.

"Oh?" Flirtatious eyes flickered back at her. "So that's how I'm meant to introduce myself? 'Hi, I'm Lethe's boyfriend'? Would that do it for you?" And the beautiful woman by his side tucked a strand of short-cut silver hair behind one ear and smiled.

"Well," Raising her cup to her lips, steam obscured one eye and a playful smile. "I can think of worse ways." Standing in his living room with Lethe Mnémonikos by his side, Yusei Fudo was happy, healthy and looking forward to the weekend. Everything was right in the world. Just as it had been for years.

* * *

 _ **Okay, I'm banking on a lot of WTF**_ _ **‽ (- that's an interrobang if you're interested) reactions. If so, hold tight. The weirdness factor is about to go... OVER 9000!**_

 _ **But seriously, there is a plot reason. I haven't just gone mad. (Well, no more than usual). Everything should make sense once you find out what it is. At least, as much sense as anything Yu-Gi-Oh! related can.**_

 _ **In the meantime, I'll try and address any questioning reviews without giving too much away. Go on. You know you want some juicy hints in exchange for a juicy review.**_


	53. False Memories

After sharing a few minutes quiet conversation with her companion, Lethe handed Yusei her mug and went to take a shower of her own. For a moment as he stood with a cup in either hand, there was the slightest moment of discontinuity. _But this was how it had always been. Lethe woke up first and made the coffee, Yusei woke up after and did the washing up._

He remembered it clearly.

Carefully wiping the mugs free before they could begin to stain, he stacked them on the side to dry. There were a few dirty dishes on the side. It was unlike him to leave them out overnight like that but he assumed he must have been too tired the previous evening to clean up. After all, he couldn't even recall going to bed.

Once the dishes had been cleaned, stacked to dry and tidied away, he went back to the laundry hamper. It had been nearly full to the brim when he had put his dirty clothes in it and was one of the items on his list for the day. Better get it out of the way early so he could move onto bigger tasks. After deftly sorting the clothes into two colour schemes, he carried the bigger bundle to the washing machine kept beside the vast clockwork mechanism at the front of the building.

Every time that he entered the room, he realised that he had forgotten just how present the ticking was. Not loud or deep but with a steady rhythm that was usually blocked off by the thick sound-proofing. The irrepressible sound of time moving forward.

It was as he went through the mundane ritual of emptying pockets that the first impossible truth happened. Tumbling out a set of crispy trousers came a tiny pebble. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have paid it any attention. Bits of dirt and gravel were naturally attracted to trousers. It seemed to be what they existed for. What separated this rock from most of the gravel he picked up was the way that it glimmered in the light.

Putting aside the laundry to pursue the instinctive human reaction to look at anything shiny, he slowly crouched down to pick up the tiny nub. Lying in his hand was a red piece of glass, wrapped by a blackened piece of metal. It looked like an earring but Lethe didn't wear them. Besides, this one looked like it had been through a fire at some point.

Looking down at the twisted piece of metal and gem, he tried to remember where he could have picked it up. Maybe it had just been a piece of random dross picked up over the course of a day. Then again, it had come from the fire-damaged trousers. The ones that had been burned when he had _been doing Duel Runner maintenance and accidentally caused a spark_.

He remembered the hurry to peel them off as they smouldered.

Putting the earring into the pocket of his fresh trousers, he focussed on the task of checking pockets. For a genius, he couldn't count the number of times that he had almost washed things he shouldn't. Computer chips, loose bits of tissue. Once, he had even put a handful of metal washers in without realising it. Fixing that mistake had taken him the better part of a day.

Tipping in some detergent, he put the laundry on for a through cycle and left the machine to get on with it. Closing the door behind him, he took a seat at the table and continued to sip at his drink until the cup was empty. Stifling a yawn, he settled an elbow against the table and rested his palm inside. Although he had barely woken up, he felt like he hadn't slept at all. Weird. He couldn't remember the last time he had woken up feeling anything other than rested and refreshed.

Closing his eyes, he settled into a low snooze as the faint sound of running water played the part of white noise to perfection.

 _They were in a car, travelling along at night. Trudge was driving. The last time he had driven a car, it had been to take Yusei into custody when Goodwin had still been in power. Looking over at his fellow passenger, he beheld a wondrous sight. Like beauty personified. "... earrings?" Being in a dream is always strange yet this felt different. Like he wasn't even an observer in events. It would certainly account for his inability to actually put a sentence together._

" _Nice, aren't they?" Gently curving a finger behind one ear, she shifted the mane of hair back so he could see the jewellery better. "They were an engagement gift between my parents. A watch and earrings." A streetlight passing by filtered through the gem, carved a scarlet hue through the air and flashing across his eyes._

Sitting upright with a choking gasp, he tried to cling to the image as it slipped from his mind.

"Yusei?" Shaking him by the shoulder, Lethe seemed startled by the sudden awakening. "You drifted off for a minute. Did you have a nightmare?" Wiping off his eyes, it took him a moment to grasp reality again. Lethe was covered in his dressing-gown with a towel still wrapped around her head.

"No. I was... we were..." Then he remembered what had been staring him right in the face. Frantically scrambling through his pocket to locate the earring, the thread actually pierced his finger as he pulled the earring out. "Lethe, is this yours?" Looking at the earring, she coloured slightly.

"No." Which made it a lot more embarrassing to try and explain where he had got it from. "Where did you find it?" Thinking through the answer brought up no easy ways to escape the problem he had just brought up for himself.

"I was doing the laundry." Okay, good so far. No signs of shooting himself in the foot. "Just emptying pockets." Steady now, steady. "And it fell out a pair of my trousers." **BOOM!** Went the metaphorical landmine. "So, I assumed it was just one of yours that I had picked up from somewhere?" Judging by the fuming look on her face, this was not the last he would be hearing of the issue.

"Hmph!" Turning on one heel, she strode back to the bedroom to get dressed. Only now that he had ruined the morning did Yusei realise that she had probably put on his dressing-gown instead of proper clothes to flirt with him a little. Screwing that up had likely cost him a lot of points.

* * *

When she returned to the room wearing jeans and a thick jumper, he made sure to be perfectly prepared. "I was going to make eggs but we seem to be out." Which was odd because he couldn't remember the last time that he had cooked any. Balancing on the tips of one hand was a fresh cup of coffee instead. "But I think Hoshi's ready to be friends?" Tucked against his chest with his spare arm was the small bundle of feline fury which hissed at the implication of being forced to act nice. "Don't ruin this for me, I need it." Glaring up at him, she carefully narrowed her eyes and rolled her head to look at the impassive face of Lethe.

"I don't suppose that you asked Hoshi if it was her earring, did you?" Running high on levels of adrenaline he forgot he had, Yusei tried to decipher the tone. As far as he could tell, he would either get this a little wrong or a lot wrong. Those were the odds he had to work with.

"It's funny, she swears she thought it was mine." Holding out the cat in one hand, he could also feel the nerves in his fingers starting to painfully die off. "But I never saw myself as the earring type." That honour had gone to his brother.

"What do you think?" Carefully taking the cat in both hands, Lethe slowly drew it to her chest as it hissed slightly. At least there were no claws, yet. It was a new record. "Should we forgive him?" Another hiss answered her question as the cat scrambled away and fell to the floor. "Your prospects aren't looking good." Taking the cup of coffee, she pulled a face after only one sip. "Urgh." Looking down at the brew, it was blander than her expression. "Two sugars, no milk. How can you have a brain the size of a planet and still forget how I take my coffee?"

"Because it's endearing how foolish I am and drives you to stick around?" Truth be told, he had no idea why he had made the coffee wrong. Lethe had two sugars without milk, he usually treated himself to one sugar with. He couldn't think why he had made it with just milk.

"Yeah," Handing him back the cup, she stepped past him towards the stairs. "Good luck with that." Placing the mug on the counter, he followed her down the stairs as he tried to think of a way to earn himself back into her good graces. "Any luck remembering about your mystery earring?" Unable to think of a way to avoid the question, he accepted his loss and tried for the truth.

"It sounds weird but I think it belongs to Setsuko Izinski." Of course it would sound strange, since they hadn't even spoken in a long time. "So I was thinking about visit," As he rounded the corner of the landing, a small pang echoed through his head. For a moment, he couldn't remember why there was a white Duel Runner sitting in the middle of the set.

 _He had started building the new Runner as a long-term project to keep himself busy in near-retirement. Except for doing some maintenance jobs around the city and teaching the occasional Duel Runner riding class for Duel Academy, he had basically stopped working. The winnings from the WRDGP were enough to tide him over on interest alone that he hadn't been forced to continue employment._

He remembered it clearly.

"Hello? Earth to Yusei?" It was clear that Lethe had noticed the slight pause in his step as he followed her down the stairs. "What's going on?"

"Sorry. I'm still a bit tired." Looking out over the various machines, he tried to figure out why they were all uncovered. "I think I'll just work on my project." Pulling covers back over the other Runners, he wondered about maybe loaning them out to the local Duel Academy. Or possibly giving them to a museum. It was better that they saw use instead of rusting away inside his garage forever. "Make sure that everything's working the way that it should."

"Okay." Although her words agreed, Lethe's tone obviously didn't trust him. "I probably won't be back too late. We've been getting fewer people in lately. I just hope that it's because we've been making a difference." The two other likely probabilities were that the people who usually visited the clinic had either stopped hoping or stopped breathing. How Lethe managed to keep going back day after day astounded Yusei. After another failed attempt to stroke Hoshi, Lethe waved goodbye to Yusei as he struggled to cover the massive wheel of Jack's Runner with a sheet. Once the task was completed, he was free to continue work on his project.

Scattered tools were still strewn around the gleaming white Runner. It was unlike him to leave things where they lay without good reason. He supposed that he must have been in the midst of tinkering with something and become distracted. That might account for it.

Kneeling down, he picked up a socket wrench in one and carefully examined the interior for himself. Many of the items inside glinted dimly under the lights above. They were a gritty grey for the most part, tightly packed beneath the exterior shell. So far, it looked as if he had simply been taking apart a few of the bulkier elements near the surface to get a better view at the deeper innards of the machine.

Another wave of discontinuity swept over him. Like before, he had the slightest twinge that there were details that were missing. It was easier to spot what this time around. Although his mechanic brain was admitting that the design of the machine was sound, the more personal part was confused by the layout. Yes, it was a good design yet not the sort that he would have usually gone for. Multiple exhaust vents when fewer could have been used? A seat so long that he would practically have to lay down when going at top speeds?

 _It had been after the tragic events of Ark Cradle. When he had been determined to force some good, any good to come from the horrors he had endured. Multiple vents because that was how Primo had driven. A longer seat than normal because of Paradox._

Yet even the memories washing through his mind couldn't calm the confusion in his gut. Even the placements of some of the components inside were weird. From the way that they had been assembled, there should have been too much weight in several areas to make driving the Runner an easy task for all but the most skilled of riders. It wasn't something that he would do. After another minute of internal struggle, he put the tools back down where they had been.

Yusei didn't have much faith in dreams. Everyone had them, most of them meant nothing. What he did have faith in was his gut and his gut was saying this was something to worth a closer look. Even though his memories tried telling him what a bad idea this was, he threw on a jacket, tucked the earring into one pocket and forced his feet up the ramp which lead to the outside.

* * *

Getting to his destination had taken an hour of walking as he tried to think of what to say. Walking up the door had taken an extra fifteen minutes of dithering back and forth. Standing on the porch, looking up at the thick piece of wood, filled Yusei with a terrible dread. _He hadn't been to this house in years. Not since he had been forced to deliver the worst news possible. It had been made clear that he wasn't welcome anymore. That it had been his fault._

He remembered it clearly.

Which was why one hand was trembling as it rose to knock on the wooden surface. Heavy footsteps came from the other side and resonated with the tight knot of anxiety in his stomach as the door was pried open.

"Fudo." Standing in the opening was the impassive figure of Hideo Izinski. What struck Yusei most about him was the eyes. Cold, dead, lifeless eyes. "What do you want?" It was apparent that Setsuko wasn't in. He wouldn't have answered the door otherwise.

"Senator Izinkski. I..." He trailed off as those eyes hardened. _After hearing the news, Hideo Izinski had spiralled into a deep depression. It was rumoured that his marriage had almost ended like his political career but rounds of counselling had managed to keep it afloat._ Everyone remembered the news announcing his resignation. So why had his first instinct been to use that title?

"It's not 'Senator' now." Swallowing in the glare he was getting, Yusei tried to keep his mind on task without thinking about just how crazy he was about to sound. "Get off my property before I call the police." One hand moved to slam the door shut.

"You gave your wife a pair of ruby earrings!" It hadn't meant to come out like that but the words stopped Hideo in his tracks. The door, which had been about to meet the frame, started to pry back open again. "For your engagement. You bought her a set of ruby earrings." Staring back at him with that dead gaze, a flicker of confusion manifested in Hideo's eyes.

"Who told you that?" Feeling the raw emotion in that gaze, the younger man struggled to remain in place. If felt like an avalanche was about to break over him and bury him alive.

"And she bought you..." What was it? What had been so clear in his dream but started to fall through his fingers every moment since. "She bought you..." It had been so clear in that strange idea. Lulled to sleep by the sound of ticking. Ticking from the clock above the shop! "A watch." A timepiece so much smaller than the one in the laundry room yet just as valued.

"I never... Where did you hear that?" Shock was keeping him from shutting Yusei out again. It would wear off soon so he needed to push for whatever advantage he could grab while he could.

"It sounds crazy but I have to ask." Pulling the tiny object from his pocket, he dangled it out between them. "Did they look like this?" Blackened and twisted from fire, the tiny mesh of metal and gemstone was already difficult to see without Hideo putting his glasses on. After a minute of squinting, the knot between his brows slowly tightened in recognition.

"Where did you get that?" A note of suspicion entered his voice. It wasn't a unique piece but the price was far beyond what someone like Yusei would usually pay.

"I think," He paused, unsure of how else to phrase the idea. The only way that he could even explain it was through a dream. "I think that Ak" The blow landed on his face just as he managed to get the words out. Enough reflexes remained that he was able to hold onto the tiny object as they both fell back through the air. Whoever said the truth hurt had probably never been punched in the face that hard when delivering it.

"Don't you dare say her name." Staring down at the fallen man, the aged politician looked incredibly imposing even with a dressing gown and padded slippers on. "You have five minutes before the police arrive. I suggest you leave before they get here." When the door closed this time, it closed all the way and several locks made sure it would stay that way.

Looking down at his clenched fist, Yusei couldn't even fathom what was happening to his world. Hideo's reaction had been all the confirmation that he had needed. This was one of the earrings that he had given his wife over twenty years ago. One which had impossibly ended up in Poppo Time when they both remembered trying to avoid each other for the past decade.

* * *

"How did it go?" Lethe was peeling an orange at the table when he arrived. She had changed from the jumper and jeans into a pair of comfortable shorts and had the look of someone performing a deeply unpleasant job. She had also deduced that he had given in to his curiosity and gone to visit the Izinski residence.

"About as well as could be expected." Grabbing a medical cool pack from the freezer, he wrapped it in a dishcloth and held the bundle against his swelling cheek. "I thought you didn't like oranges." Of course, he remembered correctly. His memories were very clear when it came to Lethe.

"One of my friends at the clinic brought them in." Placing a segment in her mouth, she swallowed it without chewing. It seemed like a workaround for her dislike of the taste. "Apparently, we all could do with more vitamin C in our lives. She made us all promise to eat one."

"Really?" Picking the next segment from her fingers, Yusei seated himself in the chair beside her with a serious face. "How are you going to tell her that you couldn't do it then?" Popping the piece into his mouth, he bit down and felt the sweet taste spread across his tongue.

"Simple." Swallowing another segment whole, Lethe pulled a disgusted face. "I'll just tell her my soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend stole it." With her distaste for the fruit already putting her in a sour mood, it was easy to put an angry face on.

"Oh?" Taking another piece of the fruit, Yusei munched it with gusto. "I don't suppose that there's anything I could do to change your mind about the 'ex' part?" After the incident at the Izinski residence, he was reminded of the need to not waste a single moment.

"Eat this." Holding the entire fruit in front of his face, Lethe's glare managed to say that she was tempted to shove it somewhere further south if he didn't do as he was told. "In one." Right up until that last bit, he had thought the request would at least be reasonable.

"Fine." Taking the lump in one hand, he crammed it into his mouth and began chewing. It was so sweet that his face instantly began turning in on itself. One piece was enough, three was too many and however many were in his mouth was enough to make his eyes water.

"Idiot." Ignoring the plight he had taken on himself, she peeled the medical aid from his face. "That looks nasty." Just to be safe, she gave it an extra poke and watched him flinch. "Baby." Holding the bag in place with her own hand, she carefully brushed a stray piece of hair back behind one ear. "How's Mr Izinski doing these days?" Swallowing as much as he could, Yusei choked slightly.

"He looks okay." Dropping a pip into his hand, he brushed it onto the floor. "It's probably not really something that he can ever get over. Maybe he'll learn to live with it. But getting past it?" Shaking his head, he swallowed the last of the fruit and used the sting of its sharp taste to remind him of the current situation. "I doubt any of us will ever get past it."

"Hey." Taking his face in both hand, Lethe glared at him. "You did all you could. Nobody else could have done better." _It had taken two years before he felt strong enough to tell her the entire story. Nobody else had understood his inability to talk about it but Lethe had been patient._

He remembered every minute of it.

"Come on," Taking one of her hands, he tried for a smile. It felt forced on his bruised face. "I could really do with some crappy television and a relaxed night. And," Reaching to the back of his jaw, he pulled out another orange seed from where it had lodged behind his teeth. "No more oranges. Let's have something quick and easy for dinner." So, what if he had picked up an earring that bore a slight resemblance to the one Setsuko Izinksi owned? That didn't necessarily mean _anything_. Days of strange things were behind Yusei. He was happy.

"Dim sum? From that place you like?" Looking up at him with a pleading expression, she knew she had won him over. With Yusei eager to paper over cracks, he would be sure to give up and order takeout.

"Okay, fine." Peeling the ice pack from his face, he used his spare hand to put his phone to the other ear. "See what there is on and I'll place the order." As the dial tone engaged and Lethe began scrolling through programs, he looked down at the cold pack on the table. It was weird. This was a proper medical ice pack, the kind used for serious injuries and in hospitals. Martha had always raised her children to make do with a pack of frozen vegetables and be thankful. _But he had decided to invest in a proper ice pack after getting a nasty burn on his arm and not being able to switch out the packets fast enough to keep them from thawing._

He remembered it.

" _..lo? Is anyone there?_ " With a start, he realised that he had finally connected to the restaurant.

"Sorry, I was stuck in my memories." Shaking free of the cobwebs, he focused on the more important issue of dinner. "Can I place an order?" Everything was fine. The earring was probably just an LED that had been bent in his pocket. There was any number of things it could be or reasons why he had picked it up. Putting the issue aside, he committed himself to an evening of bad television, good food and snoozing on the couch with his girlfriend.

* * *

Dreams are strange realities. Pigs can fly, oceans can remain as steady as stone while the cities rock back and forth in fluid stasis. There was no rhyme or reason unless you were fully submerged. Even then, the understanding stays inside the dream. What is left behind is a tangled web of mismatched sensations.

Yusei didn't remember dreaming. He remembered ambitions and desires but not actual dreams since the days of the WRDGP. Like every sleep had simply been a blank void. But he was dreaming now. He had to be. Because _Akiza was sitting beside him as they were driven down some road. He had just asked about her earrings and she seemed pleased by the attention._

" _Nice, aren't they?" Gently curving a finger behind one ear, she shifted the mane of hair back so he could see the jewellery better. "They were an engagement gift between my parents. A watch and earrings." A streetlight passing by filtered through the gem and carved a scarlet hue through the air and flashed across his eyes._

 _Scarlet like the flames that had filled the world as he stumbled up and down corridors. Part of him was terrified by the flames yet he tempered that fear with the knowledge that he had ensured Akiza's safety first. No shadows could be cast in that place yet a dark outline was constantly flitting about him as injured people were carried about. As he lowered them into a boat to set into the water, the fire finally caught him and burned him a pain that seemed to echo deep into his soul._

 _Just like that moment when he had watched an impossible girl remove her helmet to reveal a face just as heartbreakingly beautiful as Akiza's. Yet there was a watchfulness in those eyes that had a clear source to them."Crow's the father." His voice, his injury. And there had been another emotion in those eyes. A burning hatred that flared whenever they turned his way._

" _Musume." Standing outside the ship doomed to go down in flames, even a mask couldn't dull the anger as he hurried to extract his arm from Akiza's. Whatever joy they were having had been curtailed by her presence._

 _Then he was turning to face his old friend as police officers searched through his house. "Like it or not," Standing again in Poppo Time, Trudge was unaware of the figure clinging to the ceiling above their heads. "Your new friend is going to have to come with me." A twitch of fear ran through his stomach at the words. If there was another fight, Akiza might get hurt by this threat._

" _And have you thought," Keeping his voice low enough that he could barely hear it, he hoped Trudge would accept the warning he was trying to extend. "About what if she doesn't want to?" Then handcuffs were being fastened to the shadow as it was taken to the Facility over the objections of Akiza's daughter. Of Musume._

 _Musume chasing him, forcing him into Duels on the worst days of his life. Why they were the worst days he couldn't say. He was younger back then. Still in the thrall of the Crimson Dragon. But the reason for his torment was a mystery that had no answer he could recall as he moved to make a new draw._

 _All the way at the deepest level now, he stared down at a handful of cards. This was before any of the other times. He knew this one intimately. On an inverted skyline, dropping towards the city as he tried to protect it. On the day that he had promised to bring back their future. But there was something wrong._

 _Two visions seemed to be overlaid atop each other. One was grim reality, Crow and Akiza wounded from their fight with Sherry, almost crushed by the falling debris. His brother had managed to survive long enough to get medical aid. The other Signer hadn't. This was what he remembered. This is what had gone down in history._

Shaking himself back awake, he tried to force the overlapping image from his mind. It hadn't happened. It hadn't been real. Akiza had died from her injuries. Right as they arrived back on the land, the Crimson Dragon had taken back its emblems and never graced them again. The survivors hadn't spoken in years.

And it had taken years of months counselling to get over, counselling where he had met Lethe when one of her friends had overdosed and she was trying to get clean. They had started meeting for coffee and somehow become friends and started a relationship without realising it. She had even moved in a year ago and still spent a few hours every weekend volunteering at a rehab clinic on the other side of the city.

This was his life and he was happy with it. It was the only one that he remembered.

Turning to look at the sleeping face on his shoulder, he tried to force the images from his mind. One where Akiza had been bruised and bloody, injured by debris while Sherry escaped relatively unscathed. The other where she was smiling, going on to live the life he had seen in jumbled pieces of dreams.

Tilting Lethe the other way on the sofa, he carefully slipped away to get a glass of water. Soothing his parched throat, he stood over the sink as ideas and dreams swirled through his head. History had changed before. Yusei had seen it happen. It couldn't be what was happening now. If it had, he should either remember everything or nothing. There certainly shouldn't have been a ruby earring in his pocket.

Pulling out the accessory, he tried to figure out a way to justify its existence. Lethe didn't wear jewellery. One of the first acts of desperation for a junkie was to sell anything valuable they owned to try and score their next fix. Wearing any was just an unpleasant reminder of where she had been. And Yusei certainly hadn't picked it up anywhere else.

One idea was that it was just a stray item that he had picked up somewhere without thinking about it. That simply seeing it had reminded him of Akiza and lead to the spiralling ideas of everything that could have been. It made sense. It was rational. It agreed with the truth that he remembered.

As he struggled to fit both arms into a jacket, Lethe started to stir on the couch. Her primary source of heat had gone missing and she could either stay there cold or relocate to find thicker blankets. Hearing keys rustling nearby, she looked up. "Yusei?" Standing there like a child caught drawing on the wallpaper and – knowing they will be punished anyway – decides to keep going, he averted his gaze and started tying shoelaces. "It's" Checking her watch, she was irritated to see it was barely ten minutes after they had drifted off. " _One-thirty_ in the morning. Where are you going?" Her tone had the right balance of 'this is too early, I hate you for waking me up' and genuine concern.

"To the Facility." His last memory of the place was a decade ago but he remembered hearing that the new warden was progressive and looking to rehabilitate the prisoners. "I need to check on something."

"What? The Facility? Why?" Removing the comforting presence of the blankets, she shivered in the morning air as she hurried over to try and confront him. "Yusei, tell me what's going on."

Looking down at his girlfriend, he was already aware of the implications of what might happen. If history had changed or something even more dreadful had happened, he might be able to fix it. Maybe even undo it completely. But if his dreams turned out to be reality then he would never end up going to grief counselling. Never meet Lethe there. Never start a life with her. He had a thousand memories with her and all of them wonderful. And that's what he would be losing.

"I need to see if a friend of mine ended up there." Calling that shadow a 'friend' might be pushing it. They had been more of a friend of a friend. That girl... Musume. She frequently vanished for stretches of time without warning. Even if she was still out in the world (or even existed at all), it could be days before she showed up. The shadow was the only thing that might be nearby. If it was in the Facility, it would validate the scattered images. "If they're not there, then it's all okay. Trust me." Yet to fasten his coat, he wrapped her up inside and held her head to his shoulder. "For once, I want to be wrong."

Carefully bending her arms behind his back, Lethe returned the embrace. "Okay." They remembered years of building trust. Little could come in the way of that. "Just promise me to come back safe." Resting his head atop hers, he tried to control the mass of feelings churning inside his stomach. That was one promise that he couldn't make.

* * *

 _ **So many deadlines. So much stress. Such little free time. However, since it is the holiday season, I will be wrapping up this confusing tangent in the story. Another chapter should be up tomorrow (although it probably counts as later today by this point) and hopefully start clearing up the confusion.**_

 _ **As always, leave a review and I'll do my damndest to get back to you.**_


	54. Early Release

In his sleep-deprived rush to reach the New Domino Detention Centre, Yusei had overlooked one key piece of information: he had no real business being there. "Look," Any number of crazy people could walk into a police station in the early hours of the morning and claim one of their equally crazy associates were imprisoned within. "I just need to know if someone has been brought in over the last few days." Yusei had only been allowed into the Facility because of his past exploits. Getting any specific information – especially considering that he didn't know the specifics himself – was proving to be more difficult.

"As I told you before," Piloting a desk during the night shift was boring enough to long for any interaction. Then interactions like this one came along and boring became preferable. "Unless you have an ID number, case number or warrant, I can't give you that information."

"What if we just needed a quick walk around the block?" Approaching from behind came the steady tread and firm voice of Trudge. Held out in one hand was the immediate warrant authority of an official police badge. "Just to check out a lead." Stepping up to the reinforced screen, he spared a sideways glance at his impassive companion. "What ever happened to waiting for me?"

"Who said anything about waiting?" Playing along, Yusei knew that it was no coincidence that his old friend had shown up just in time. "I thought it would save time if I just did the work and took the credit."

"My case, my credit. You're just lucky I needed a consultant on a budget." As the helmeted face went about tapping at the keyboard, Trudge turned to face the other way and lowered his voice. "Lethe called me." Reliable in any timeline, he had come to check on his friend. Even at ungodly hours of the morning. "What's going on with you?" As far as he was concerned, nothing was out of the ordinary except for his young friend.

"Aside from feeling like I'm stuck in a nightmare?" Although this strangeness had begun with a burnt earring and a broken dream, it was starting to feel more and more like a prison. "I'm trying to find someone who might be able to help me. But it'd be better if I can't." If he couldn't find that dark outline, it would just be a dream and nothing else. "Tell me, when was the last time you were here?"

"The Facility?" Scratching at the fine film of stubble on his chin, it took a moment for Trudge to remember. "Maybe eight, nine weeks ago? Came to check out a lead. Didn't pan out. Why'd you ask?" Ignoring the question, Yusei turned back at a slight cough. Trudge not remembering meant that it was more likely he needed to be searching for a good psychiatrist instead of a vague figure he barely remembered.

"You're all set." Handing an access card through the slot, it was didn't need saying why there was only one. "You're responsible for anything he does." Jerking a thumb at the civilian, it was nice to see the bureaucracy was still in the habit of explaining what was obvious. "Don't give anything, don't take anything. The card will only get you onto the walkways, not the cells. Special prisoners are off-limits." It was the first time – in either set of memories – that Yusei had ever officially heard the term. 'Special prisoners' were the Duellists too maniacal to be free yet having not done mainstream enough crimes to go into proper prisons. Underground Duels where lives were put on the line, ante rules where limbs were bet. Sick and twisted versions of Duel Monsters that many people couldn't have believed were real. An entire sub-level of the Facility served to contain these monsters. The only access was an antique, hand-operated freight life and a narrow staircase where the prisoner was always the first to go down.

"We're just here to see if a suspect was brought in under an alias." Taking the card, Trudge was speaking the truth, of a sort. "Come on." Taking stride alongside his new deputy, the pair were soon inside the prison proper and staring down the shaft of interred people. "So then," Twenty levels, six sides to a level and with seventeen cells on most sides, almost all with bunks. Capacity for nearly four thousand people. "Who are we looking for?"

Knuckling his forehead, Yusei tried to remember anything that could have been of use. He was running on an hour-long nap, a handful of scattered dreams and the gut instinct that everything he knew wasn't quite right. "Trudge," There was one part of the nightmare that had stuck with him. That figure clinging to the ceiling. He had been worried about how it might react. With himself, Trudge and two other police officers in the room. "Where do they put the worst people in this place?"

* * *

Many of the inhabitants in the Facility were mostly there because they were repeat offenders of petty crimes and serving an average of only a few months. Unfortunately, a handful of them were closer to being 'special' prisoners than regular ones. These inmates were confined to the lowest five floors and kept separated from the main population through extra sets of reinforced gates guarding every level. The riot-resistant lift doors could only operate on those levels with the command code of Warden Ishi from the safety of the main command room. The escape record for convicted felons was zero.

It was these floors that Yusei was slowly circling. For once, he was grateful for the early hour. Many of the prisoners were asleep and unlikely hurl insults at him. All it took to check each cell was a brief glance inside before moving onto the next one. Clearing the first two floors had taken only a few minutes. By the time he was finishing circling the third floor, his hope of finding anyone was fading and his hope of it all just being a normal dream was starting to rise. Then a tickle crossed through his subconscious as he walked past a cell. Taking another step back, he let out a deep, slow breath.

Nobody would have called the conditions in the Facility exactly pleasant. It was technically a prison and meant more for punishment and rehabilitation than a pleasurable stay. Yet – while cold enough that most prisoners used the blanket provided – it was usually kept warm enough that breath shouldn't have fogged over like he was seeing.

Turning with the pit in his stomach growing, Yusei peered through the reinforced door in the middle of the row. It was one of the two securest rooms on the floor. An equal distance from either flight of stairs, randomly reinforced door to eliminate weak points in the design and had a camera installed above the doorway to keep an eye on any interim prisoner being held there. But without a recorded prisoner, there was no reason to even look inside the cell. Especially when all the guards would see is a dark outline on the concrete slab that served as a bed.

"You're still here." Chains rattled gently as the outline carefully shifted upright and swung legs around to face him directly. "Do you have any idea what's going on?" Standing off to one side, Trudge thought for a moment that Yusei might have been talking to him.

Telling if she was nodding or bowing was a matter of guesswork but both indicated a certain acceptance. Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, Yusei rested his head against the mismatched bars on the cell door as he saw the wall behind past the movement.

"Do you remember Akiza? Or... the other one?" Either he was slipping further into a delusion or this was something far beyond the scope of average human understanding. Science told him the former, instinct the latter.

 _Musume?_ Stepping forward, the shadow crossed the space with only the clinking sound of her chains to mark her footsteps. If this wasn't part of a delusion – and Yusei was afraid to consider the possibility – then this person had not been present eight years ago to meet Musume and could only know her from the present time. The swirling vortex of half-remembered nightmares would be true and he would lose everything all over again.

"Yusei?" Interjecting in the conversation, Trudge didn't notice the dull gleam of chains in the darkened cell. "Who are you talking to?" By the time he was standing by the younger man, the silent figure had quietly withdrawn to the far side of her cell and was tucked against the wall. It was apparent it was going to be no further help.

"This is… her name is…" So many flickers of forgotten ideas were pounding around his head that it was difficult to keep any of them straight.

"Looks like you could do with a good night's sleep." It was impossible for either of them to realise how accurate the statement really was just at that moment. Recognising the risk of falling to an early grave over the railings, Trudge instead opted to lean against the wall outside the cell.

"Is it okay if I ask you a personal question? About weird stuff?" Even with experiences against both the Dark Signers and Yliaster, Trudge insisted that he was the normal one in their partnership and Yusei had to deal with all the 'weird stuff'.

"Yes, the loser of my mahjong group has to wear fishnet stockings for two days." Unable to resist the joke, Yusei started to smile past his exhaustion. Trudge ran a monthly and possibly illegal mahjong tournament with some of his buddies on the service with a substantial penalty for coming in last. Men had to wear fishnets for two days of work and women agreed to make at least one public compliment about the winner.

"Remember when Jakob and Primo took the mayor's office?" In a timeline that had been altered away from that reality, Trudge only recalled by virtue of being conveniently located beside a Signer. Yliaster had been more direct in their approach to controlling New Domino before a change in their plans forced them to give up the office. Protected by the peripheral effects of the Crimson Dragon, it had been a surreal experience for Trudge to adjust to. "What would you do if you were the only one who realised it had all changed?"

Not an easy question. Being the only one to remember a different history would be tantamount to madness. Admitting it would be practically begging to be locked up. "What is it that you think is different?" Certain detective instincts made it easy for Trudge to draw the line straight from the question to the man asking it. "And please tell me it's that a world where Crow beat Jack." Physics and probability dictated that every plausible event must happen somewhere in some way. Nobody knew exactly where such an event would be located but it was probably beneath a sky filled with flying pigs.

"Akiza is still alive." Thinking that a loved one had survived was a common symptom of grief. Flashes of their face in a crowd, insane and improbable plans that could justify their escaping the quiet reach of the grave. "There's this whole life inside my head where I know she died on Ark Cradle. Where Senator Izinski retired, where Senator Enor replaced him. One where my work to perfecting my father's designs allowed countries to come together and share their resources while I went back to Duelling. But it's all a lie." Placing a hand over his eyes, Yusei could hear how crazy it all sounded. "There's another life, one I think I was stolen from us. Akiza isn't dead, she's a doctor. Jack, Crow and Leo are all professional Duellists and Luna's off doing charity work, saving the world."

"Doesn't sound so bad." Guys on the force had this all the time. When their minds started to bend under the strain and a perfect fantasy world was assembled inside their minds in order to keep them sane. "What about you?" What was important was to guide them towards realising that it's just a dream. Reality was not so easily manipulated.

"Running a science institution. Slowly dying from some brain thing." Trudge recognised that as a bad sign. If somebody was imagining their death, it was a sign that they needed more help than a listening ear. "But there's other stuff going on. Like this person from the future came back to do something." Any thoughts he had of Musume were vague and unsure. An effect of whatever had them all in a tight grip. "Akiza's daughter. Hers and Crow's. And this new person who's been following us around. Seems to know a lot about 'weird stuff' like this."

"Think about it though." Even though alarm bells were ringing in Trudge's head left and right, he had to at least explore the idea that Yusei might be right. "If something is strong enough to take out a Signer like that, why Akiza? Why not more of you? Don't get me wrong, I miss her as much as any of you." During her Turbo Duel exam, Trudge had personally made sure that he was assigned Akzia's case. No half-measures for his friends to coast by on. Either she would be good enough to match his skills or she wasn't ready to Turbo Duel. "But she and Crow were never really close. So you'll forgive me for thinking their kid came back from the future for something. How did she do that, anyway?" No answer was coming, the details slipping through Yusei's fingers like treacle. "If it was that bad, surely that Crimson Dragon thing would have saved you." That was it! Because Musume was keeping the Crimson Dragon occupied in the fight against Red Nova, it couldn't keep the rest of them protected like it once had. "Just tell me, what could do something like this?"

 _Twisting, turning, changing, burning._ Trudge leapt away from his piece of wall with a startled curse as Phantom soundlessly appeared behind him. Words suddenly appeared in his head probably did not help matters that much either. As far as he remembered, this was their first time meeting. _Boo._ It might only be a rudimentary joke yet even the most basic sense of humour helped humanise the figure. And then Yusei recalled a thyme joke and the name finally emerged from the chaos of his mind.

"Trudge, this is Phantom. Phantom, Officer Trudge." Holding out one hand through the bars didn't stop Trudge from noticing the broken shackle on the other wrist. Although history had apparently gone awry and certain events seemingly un-happened, she still considered herself under arrest and would dress as such.

"Pleasure?" Shaking the hand was like grabbing a glove of ice. "Who are you?"

 _Me, myself and I._ Leaning herself against the side of the doorway, her head began to gently sway from one side to the other.

"Yusei, you do realise that this crackpot is delusional?" Swaying to a halt, an intense stare burst through the darkness.

"Can you tell me what's happening?" Ignoring the one friend insane enough to actually listen to him, Yusei pressed for answers from the one person sane enough to remember what was really going on.

 _Lockdown, lock up._ Stepping back into the shadows left only the dull gleam of chains. _Bound in chains, nearly insane._ It appeared that nobody in the conversation was playing with a full Deck. Trudge had forgotten Akiza, Yusei was torn between two lives and Phantom was making less sense than ever.

"You don't know, do you?" Leaning back against the railing, Yusei his face with both hands as hope drained away. "Of course you don't."

 _All news, good news. No news, bad news._ Leaning casually on the bar, she was listening attentively for any information of the outside world. As long as no sentence had been delivered, there was no reason to assume anything except for the slow legal process to be working towards her release.

"What am I even doing?" A sarcastic laugh broke through his exhaustion as Yusei realised the futility of his attempt. "One bad dream and suddenly I'm running around the city convinced that Akiza's still alive and has a daughter. None of it's real." Resigning himself to reality was the hardest thing that Yusei had ever done. It meant that he had to recognise that not all hopes panned out. "Trudge, take me home. This was a waste of time."

 _What?_ Shock managed to break through the mental barrier that was keeping them separated. _Musume cannot be gone. Too much, too much!_ Metal smashed against metal as she shook the cage door in an effort to make herself understood. _Conservation, equivalence!_ Unable to break over the threshold of her captivity, Phantom screamed down the hallway at the retreating back in a language that she hoped he would understand. _Special relativity!_

One foot paused on the first step as the words bypassed his ears to directly reach Yusei's brain. "Yusei?" Sensing the pause, Trudge could tell an idea was brewing inside that head. "What is it?"

Retreading his steps brought Yusei to stand outside the cell door once again. "Say that again." It was not a phrase that he had ever connected to his Signer heritage. In those uncertain memories of his, it belonged to the other half of his life but he had first heard it long before his life seemed to have been sent in a different direction.

 _Musume._ Snapping a few links from the end of her chains, Phantom balanced them on one finger. _Red, crimson, fire bright, fire dark. Many as one._ Gently tapping the pieces, she counted off the peculiar arrangement that Musume had. Now that he had a name to work with, other facts were starting to surface in Yusei's mind.

"Right. Red Nova, Crimson Dragon and Musume." Obscuring the first two links inside a clenched fist left one shining piece of metal sticking out. "I don't get what you" Carefully pulling at the exposed link brought the entire arrangement back into view and Yusei finally managed to understand what she was trying to convey. "Trudge, I need her released into my custody."

"Care to explain what's going on?" Time was a pressing factor yet Yusei knew that he had to explain the situation to his friend if they were going to make any progress.

"It's basic physics. Mass and energy can't be destroyed, just change form." Nodding sagely indicated that Trudge was lost from the third word. "Imagine burning down a tree. Although you had a lot of wood, you don't get as much ash."

"Of course not." Arson was less common than it had once been but Trudge still knew a few things about pyrotechnics. "Because most of it went up as smoke or was used as fuel for the fire."

"Exactly." Now came the trickier part. "The girl I remember, Akiza's daughter, she figured out a way to trap Red Nova and the Crimson Dragon inside her. And _if_!" Sensing Trudge about to ask a wasted question, Yusei pressed on. "If she's still linked to them in that way, we only need to figure out a way to summon one of them. Then Musume gets dragged along as well." Phantom's ravings made more sense now. When she had been shouting about 'too much', it had been because of the sheer power they contained. Erasing a single human was probably not a difficult feat. Trying to suppress the mighty creatures was beyond what Yusei could imagine. All they needed was an easy way to return.

 _Home again, home again._ Pressing the links of the chain into his hand, she curled his fingers about them. _Lickity split._ It was the first time that he could remember feeling hope in a long time. Wherever Akiza had gone, whatever had happened to her, either the Crimson Dragon or Red Nova would be able to sniff something out. And now they had a plan to get Musume back.

"Yusei, this maniac is just telling you what you want to hear." Carefully guiding his friend away from the cell failed miserably when Yusei refused to shift his feet even an inch. He just kept one fist clenched tightly about the broken pieces of metal in his grip.

"Let's pretend that's the case." Logic and reason might not be working against his past but he was able to apply them now and there was a puzzle right in front of their eyes. "Then how did she know the name 'Musume' if we hadn't said it yet?" It took a moment for Trudge's brain to catch up. It had been Phantom who used the name first, not Yusei. He had been calling Musume 'the other one' when they first got there.

 _Pen, pencil?_ Flicking past sensitive notes and a few rudimentary drawings, Phantom finally landed on blank material in the notepad.

"Hey, when did you" Patting down his pockets did nothing to return the stolen notebook to Trduge's side. "Give that back!" One hand remained outside the bars as her other retreated back with the stack of classified material.

"Here." Every few sentences twisted Yusei's hope into doubt before turning it back again. Trudge's words had cast a shade of doubt onto the conversation. Giving a stub of a pencil from his jacket might be all that he needed for some answer.

"What do you expect to get out of this?" Carefully placing the pad against a tiny ledge on the door, the pen gently crawled across the paper as Phantom carefully began her note.

"Tell me honestly." Watching the dark hand carefully pass back and forth across the page, he wished that it had more speed. "What would you do if you woke up tomorrow and only you remembered Mina?"

After a few seconds quiet contemplation, Trudge managed to summon up the courage to give the honest truth. "I'd come right to you and ask what I could do to get her back." Watching the pad carefully rotated as numbers were carefully inscribed along the perimeter, he wondered if history was lying or if Yusei was finally cracking beneath the weight of all everything that he carried. Considering that he was asking for help from an unbalanced prisoner in a secure cell, Trudge would keep a careful eye on his friend.

 _Ta-da!_ Passing the inscription back through the cage brought no end of satisfaction. _They called me mad, mad!_ Maybe 'mad' was going a bit far but cackling maniacally with raised hands was not exactly stable behaviour.

"Yeah, we get it. You're insane." Holding the pad of paper sideways was the most effective way to read what was written on it. It took only a few seconds to realise he was far out of his depths. "What exactly am I looking at?"

Leaning over his friend, Yusei saw not exactly proof of reality yet maybe proof of reason from somewhere inside that armour. "That one? Noether's theorem." Which looked to Trudge like somebody had randomly typed using all the buttons he didn't understand on a calculator. "Euler's equation here deals with spheres." How 'V – E + F = 2' could be used in regards to an apple was beyond the understanding of the average cop. "Looks like she has a tidy corner for Einstein's stuff." Choosing from the more famous equations, the formula for special relativity was new to Trudge. At least he understood the first half of the general relativity entry. "This?" Tracing a long stream of digits curling around the page with one finger actually brought a slight smile to Yusei's face. "That's sort of like a joke."

"1 = 0.999999..." It curled around the page in such a way that one corner let the nines merge into a never-ending circle. "But it doesn't." Sensing the amusement coming from two directions, he tried not to ask the obvious question. "Does it?"

"Ask an engineer sometime." Yusei dimly recalled a time when barricades were being drawn and weapons being made because of that equation. Why did he think that there was one twisted face constantly popping up on either side to stir up trouble? Ron? Don? Something like that. "Still believe that she's mad?"

 _The mad person thinks they are sane and I know I am mad._ Yusei uttered a quiet prayer that the chaotic mind would choose a side between sanity and madness and just be done with it already.

"Salvador Dali. Good choice." At least, he hoped that she was intentionally quoting. "Decent grasp of physics, sounds like she understands philosophy to an extent. Other than communication difficulties, why can't she be temporarily released?"

Looking at the pair of part-mad people – one remembering torn between two histories and the other driven crazy by something nobody could yet explain – Trudge considered everything that he knew. Every police instinct in him called for him to dismiss this crazy theory. There was no evidence to support it. Every single person they knew was remembering a history where Akiza had died. Records proved it. History was very clear on that point.

"Okay. But I'm checking why she's in here first." Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out his phone. Being a cop, it was one of the few privileges that were afforded to him while in the facility. There was no telling when he would have had to check details of a case in a hurry. Dialling the direct number for the security booth, he waited as it connected. "It's Trudge. What can you tell me about the prisoner in cell..." All the secure cells looked slightly different which somehow made listing them slightly harder.

 _A-17/1_. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, Phantom seemed as excited to be leaving the jail as she had been happy to stay in it.

"Cell A-17/1." How she knew the location of her cell without being able to see the faded inscription above the doorway outside was unsettling to Trudge.

" _..._ " Garbled electric tones came down the line as he waited for information to filter down. " _...?_ " Tone – if not the actual words – managed to make it over to Yusei.

"... Well, of _course_. I'm standing outside it." Cameras were probably watching him so Trudge tried to play it cool. "I meant the _last_ occupant. I'm... following a lead." Another few minutes of talk came down the line. Talk that went ignored as he only kept up the pretence of investigating a pretend crime. "Got it. Thanks." Putting his phone down, Trudge was starting to see a tiny glimmer of what Yusei understood. "That's weird."

"What is it?" Judging from the expression on his face, it was obvious there was an irregularity of some kind. Like a reflection in the photo that could be dismissed as a printing error. Or a card in a Deck that was not meant to be there.

"There isn't anyone registered in this cell." Leaning on the bars, Phantom had become more confused than before. At least she could recognise the confusion of simple logic and not a worsening of her condition. "Last time it was used was six months ago."

 _Ripples spreading on a pond._ Staring at the figure, Yusei was starting to realise just how much they had underestimated this figure. _Drip, drip, drip._ Musume had managed to forge some sort of connection before she vanished. Doubtless that she had recognised what lay just beyond the craziness.

"It was Musume who caught her." Whatever protection that had let Phantom retain own memories hadn't extended to the arrest records. Now that Akiza was gone – and her daughter as a result – the ripple effects of untaken actions had undone the arrest.

"Which means – if she really _was_ here – then nobody caught her this time around." Trudge had seen this movie. It had been late one night when nothing else had been on.

 _Judge, jury._ Resting both hands on the bars made Phantom's idea perfectly clear. _Jailbreaker?_ With the legal system no longer aware of her existence, she was looking to the one figure of authority she could trust.

"Can you tell me," Those metal chains had already been broken apart. Only a sense of morality was keeping the prisoner in her cell. He had to hope that would hold a while longer. "Why you were you arrested?"

 _Multiple mass mayhem and assault against poor proletarian police._ After a brief conference with Yusei to clarify the meaning of 'proletarian' and briefly scream that he was mad if he expected Trudge to release this maniac, the officer managed to find a level-head needed to assess the case. He was not a legal expert. Cops learned what they needed to learn and left most of the other stuff to the professionals. Returning to the cell, he tried for a different tactic.

"Do you feel bad about what you did?" Tilting her head to one side, she carefully considered the question from all angles. Then it was shaken from one side to the other. From her perspective – and that of a few laws – Phantom had been justified in her reactions to being mistreated during what was dangerously close to a full psychotic break. Had her trial actually been carried out while anyone still remembered her, there was a good chance she would have made bail.

"But you do realise it was probably wrong?" Another tilt of her head and careful examination of the question. With right and wrong being moral points of view, she had found the same logic from the last question applied to this one as well. Then she remembered the broken figure of Diego. Now that she had adjusted to her new existence, it was clear to see that he had only been trying to help. Taking that into account, she carefully nodded.

"And are you sorry about hurting the police officers?" That was easily the most simple question to answer.

 _Hurt me, hurt you_. A far more vehement shake this time. And she _had_ pulled her punches to avoid inflicting permanent harm. Really, Phantom deserved a medal for her efforts and not the people who were currently under the impression they had been on a drunken night out and ended up heavily wounded from a bar brawl.

"Did they start it?" As a member of the police department, Trudge believed that many of his officers would uphold the law to the best of their ability. As somebody who had spent more than a fair amount of time being chased for unfair circumstances beyond his control, Yusei was fully aware that 'accidents' happened. When Phantom nodded, it tied Trudge's hands in several unpleasant ways.

"Just... don't do it again. If anything like it happens in the future, ask for me first." Memories are tricky little things. Acting on little more than blind faith and gut instinct, Trudge was opting to let the person who had sprained three of his ribs walk completely free. It was not a decision that would come back to haunt him but still a stupid enough call that he would kick himself for it later. Once he remembered why she had been locked up.

"Any bright ideas how to get her out of here without being seen?" Now that he had promised to free the insane prisoner, Trudge realised that he was expected to deliver. Holding up one finger, it appeared that an answer was to be provided.

All of those randomly added bars in the cell door added to the structural integrity yet also made it more difficult for the human mind to entirely track where they should be. Carefully sliding a finger past either end of one bar, Phantom somehow managed to slide the chunk of metal free without any sign of difficulty. Even so, the resulting gap was dreadfully narrow, barely the size of a laptop. Tucking an arm and leg through the opening, she shimmied most of her body through until there was enough room to pass her other arm out and follow it with her head. Then it was a simple matter of drawing the other foot out and simply stepping free.

To whoever next inhabited the cell, the gap would appear no larger than any of the others. Even if they noticed the opening, it was impossible to get out in any way but the method she had just used.

"Well, that was," Before Trudge could finish his sentence, Phantom took one step, placed the other foot on the dented handrail and leapt up two floors to land above the additional security and across to grab the floor directly in front of the lift. Swinging over the higher railings, she used the metal bar to pry open the doors and slipped through in an instant. Even though the move had instantly set off an alarm, cameras showed that nobody had approached the lift from either side and the alert was chalked up to being a malfunction. Any response was cancelled before it could begin. "Impressive?" Came the end of the statement.

"Just to make sure I'm not seeing things now," Ending closer to the edge of the landing, Yusei tried to estimate the distance. Twenty, thirty feet, at least. And she had done it with one jump. "That really happened, right?" Phantom had been in the prison at least a full day already. Everything had cycled through rotation and was just repeating. She could have broken out at any time. Of course, she would pick the exact time that a high ranked police officer came to visit.

"Look at it this way," Barely able to grasp her invisible existence, Trudge now found himself trying to understand how any normal human could have closed that distance in a single move in any way except straight down. "Nobody knew she was here, to begin with. It's not as if they're going to accuse us of breaking her in just to break her out."

* * *

Sure enough, nobody batted any eyelid at their departure. Trudge handed back his security card while Yusei stood silent and said nothing and the pair were soon thrust out into the quiet hours of the early morning. Setting a slow pace down the road, it was Trudge who broke the growing silence with a police officer's question.

"So then," Tucking both hands into his pockets and falling into a particular amble, he naturally gravitated to what one Captain Chul referred to as 'the patrol walk'. It was not designed to be a fast or authoritative stride, just one that required the bare minimum to swing one leg forward and leave behind enough momentum that the other could take its turn with the lowest possible measurement of effort. "Where do you think she ran off to?"

"Last time, she was waiting in a cell that you put her in." A damp mist was starting to form in the cold morning, wrapping around the city like a pale shroud. "This time, it's just the two of us to search the entire city." Since nobody apparently remembered the brawl by the docks, Trudge couldn't simply put out an order to search for Phantom. If she didn't move and they methodically searched anywhere in the city that she could be hiding, the pair might just be done in about three lifetimes. "Any preference on where to start?" Yusei was aware of the very real possibility that Phantom could have simply left the city altogether. Luckily for him, this wasn't the case.

 _Marco._ Came the unuttered words from down an alleyway as they walked past.

"Probably down this way." Jerking a thumb to his left, Trudge's heart was pounding in his chest as the silent voice echoed through his skull. This was not a man who spooked easily yet he couldn't remember the last time a perp had been this unusual. "You can go first, seeing as how she's your friend. Go on," Giving his buddy a little prod to get going, Trudge willingly sent him first as a human shield. "Say 'Polo' back."

"Phantom?" Edging down an alleyway towards an invisible assailant and recent prison escapee was probably the most stupid decision an average person could make. For Yusei, it was a Sunday. "Are you still there?" Trying to spot where she was hiding was difficult since any sort of motion was erased by the vantablack armour. Instead, he followed the persistent sound of something being tapped against a dumpster.

 _Hello._ Waiting otherwise unnoticeably on the other side of the garbage container, she had been beating a slow tempo with the metal rod used in her escape. With its purpose now served, she casually tossed it into a recycling bin and faced her rescuers without any emotion showing.

"How did you get out without setting off the alarms?" More concerned with the safety of his city than his own personal safety, Trudge was eager to learn of any holes in security at the Facility. Taking the question dead on, Phantom simply levelled her flickering blue gaze in his direction until he realised that anyone capable of leaping over thirty feet could probably find a few other flaws that normal people couldn't.

"Phantom," Drawing the conversation back to more important matters, Yusei could finally ask the question that he needed an answer to. "Do you have any idea what could have caused something like this?" It was trying to draw an ocean from a well but he had hope that Phantom could pull through one more time.

 _Miracles, mayhem. Science, magic._ One might say that they were just two sides of one coin. It was the same sentiment that Phantom was trying so desperately to express through the sprawling chaos of her mind.

"Which is it?" Already feeling on-edge after the breakout, Trudge was pushing for answers a bit harder than his friend. He was an officer of the law and had just helped a convicted felon escape. It was not looking to be a good day and the sun hadn't even risen yet.

 _Like this? Two people gone, one person spared?_ They had run out of luck. _Try again later._ More accurately, she had plenty of ideas as to what it could possibly be but hadn't enough data to take a guess at what it probably was.

"What do you mean by that? _Two_ of us still remember." Standing in a grimy alleyway, just the three of them, Phantom struggled to find the necessary words without resorting to rhyme or quotes. Although she knew a few that might work, it was better that she put in the additional effort to be clearly understood.

 _Good armour._ Tapping the surface with one pilfered Shock Baton, she watched as Trudge checked his hip in horror. _Protected,_ _not_ _spared._

"By all means," Wresting the weapon from her grip, he tried not to let his guilt and doubt overwhelm him. Only five minutes out of a jail cell and already back at pickpocketing. If he knew even a tenth of what she had done, he would probably have escorted her back into the box and bricked over the entrance. "Just help yourself to whatever you want."

"Come on." Setting a lead down the narrow space, Yusei was soon flanked by his unorthodox sidekicks. He had hoped that determining a common link between himself and Phantom might have provided a clue as to what had happened and found neither. At least he had an idea for the next step. "It's time to deal with a demon."

* * *

 ** _Ho-ho-humbug. This chapter should have one up earlier but I was caught up trying to fix the next two. Unfortunately for me, they each feature a Duel and neither one is proving to be easy. On the bright side, I should be able to have them up by the end of the day and bring this minor fiasco to a close._**

 ** _As a Christmas gift, you have my promise that - come Hell or high water - I plan to finish this story before next Christmas rolls around. (I know that's not exactly a solid deadline but nothing's exactly set in stone these days.)_**

 ** _Stay kind and I'll see you all in a short while._**


	55. Deceitful Narrative

Rolling to a halt outside Poppo Time, Trudge looked sideways at the passenger seat. "Are you going to tell her?" There was no doubt who he meant. Other than discussing the next step in their plan, the two hadn't spoken a single word since leaving the Facility.

"Just keep the car running." Sliding out of the door, the world was coated in a pre-dawn twilight. Nobody was around as he walked in through the shop with the quiet sound of time. Nobody noticed as he walked up all the quiet parts of the stairs to the second floor. Only Hoshi stirred as he walked past the couch in the open area.

In his room, the bed hadn't been slept in since he awoke the morning before. Everything was just as he had left it. Opening the drawer beside his bed, Yusei shuffled the assorted cards in a pile and slipped them into his pocket. They had been splayed out for some reason, jumbled about like he didn't usually store them. Closing it softly to avoid any noise, he shut his door just as quietly. Curling up around his legs came the silent figure of his cat.

"Hey." Bending down a trembling smile, he spoke in a whisper. "I need you to take care of her, okay?" Picking up the feline, he carried her the few feet over to the couch and set her down beside the still sleeping Lethe. That single lock of hair always seemed to drip her face was swaying again.

"Did you tell her?" Waiting patiently in the car, Trudge stared directly ahead as Yusei slid back into his seat.

"No." Just as much as they both knew whatever was going on was near impossible, they were both wise enough to recognise the trouble that might come out of it. Most likely, their attempts to spare Akiza from a fate they were beginning to believe never happened would end in futility and an extended stint in a psychiatric facility. At best, it would completely rewrite history and Yusei would wake up the next day in a world where he never met Lethe.

He wasn't sure which scenario would hurt him more.

"Yusei, I think that she has a right to know what's going on." It's strange how often people say those words. 'A right'. Rarely can they point to a law, legal precedent or any official record of this supposed 'right'. In this instance, Yusei decided to go with the moral right.

"How would you feel if Mina woke up one day and said you were in Lethe's position?" It was killing him not to burst in there and put everything right. "Just drive." Seated on his lap was a leather satchel. There was only one person Jack would listen to. Convincing them to help was expected to be only marginally easier than convincing Jack.

* * *

Their destination lay across the city. At that hour of travel, few cars were on the road and nobody was looking too closely at the ones which were. Within thirty minutes of their departure, the pair were finishing a journey which usually took the better part of an hour. As they finally pulled up to their destination, Trudge broke the grim silence with an equally grim question. "Do you think we should let her out?" Yusei considered the choice for a moment.

"Either that or she breaks herself out." From what they had seen in the prison, their unusual ally had no problem overcoming heavy-duty security measures. A simple lock would provide much less trouble. Levering themselves out of the car, the pair walked around to the back and shared a glance. "Your car, your trunk." Although she couldn't easily communicate the paranoid reasoning behind her choice, Phantom had quite readily rolled herself into trunk and shut the lid on the compartment. If Trudge had pulled himself over, it would have been a tricky time trying to explain to himself why he had been carrying a prison escapee in the back of his car.

"I've gotta say." Pausing with his key in the lock, Trudge shared an uneasy glance with his partner. "She gives me the creeps." Opening the lid, he was even more unsettled when the flickering blue eyes were staring straight at him. "Uh, hey."

Sliding her legs over the lip, Phantom joyfully hopped herself out onto the gravel path they were parked on. _Uncanny valley._ Patting him on one shoulder, step stepped past the policeman with utter fascination at what lay behind him. Not for the first time, Yusei had to wonder just how far across the line between genius and insanity this person wandered.

"Phantom, can you come over here and" Unable to be more than a guiding voice, he watched as she walked over to embrace a sturdy oak. Looking up at the waving leaves, she gave a happy smile as they swayed in the morning breeze.

"Yusei." Of all the insults in his life – and, being a cop, there were a lot of them – Trudge had never expected the opportunity for one this old. Humanity had come a long way since the phrase had been derogatory. "She's a tree-hugger. We broke her out of prison and now she's hugging a tree." Running on two hours sleep was giving Yusei a small headache and neither of companions were helping.

"Let's get inside." Ignoring the implication that he had been involved at all in the breakout and not simply a helpless bystander, Yusei gave a quiet knock on the front door. The owner taught her children to take advantage of as much of the day as they could and was usually up before dawn. "Just remember," Hearing the faint sound of footsteps approaching the other side of the door. "We need to approach this carefully. Let me do the talking." When the door opened, it warmed his heart to see the short figure of his mother wielding a stout lump of wood in one fist. Even with all the progress since his own childhood, there were still unsavoury characters lurking on Satellite Island and Martha preferred to reinforce caution with a big stick.

"Yusei?" Noting the stern figure of Trudge standing at one side, she reaffirmed her grip on the weapon. It would be a bleak day that she let the police into her house without due cause. Her fury could probably outstrip Phantom's assault on half the department if roused to the occasion. "What's going on?" Taking the glare and weapon under consideration, the grizzled police officer bravely edged behind his human shield for the second time that day.

"Ma'am." Bending at the knees made it easier to dodge, weave and even run if she turned violent. Trudge may be eternally indebted to Martha for turning him onto Mina but that wouldn't mean he would simply stand still while she rained down righteous fury on him. "Your son is crazy and he's brought a tree-hugger with him." Breathing deeply in through his nose, the suddenly surrounded young man tried to find a way to put a positive spin on the declaration. Nearly lost in the sound of the growing tension, a slight scratching was coming from the other side of the road.

"Who's there?" Dragging Yusei in front of him as he moved, Trudge slid to one side so that Martha could see the splayed outline of the tree-hugger now picking at the trunk she had formerly been embracing. Whatever the nuances of the conversation behind her, they weren't being sent in Phantom's direction so she just continued doing her own thing.

"That's… a long story." One too long to be recounted on a doorstep. "Can we talk inside?" Sparing a look over one shoulder, he saw the outline shimmy up the tree with every sign of enjoyment. It was the perfect sort for climbing. Plenty of strong limbs, thick foliage, no branches low enough that people instantly looked up to see if anyone was already climbing it.

"Have you eaten yet?" A mysterious stranger climbing the trees was hardly an issue when there were children which needed feeding. "Come in, come in. You can help me make breakfast." Ushering the pair into her house, Martha made sure to re-engage all the locks and bolts. Even though her maternal instincts were directing her to feed her guests, her preservation instincts were still operating.

"Now then," Filling the kettle, she set it to boil while pulling pots and pans from various cupboards. "What are you doing here at this hour and who was that outside?" It was still dark enough that she thought the outline was simply a trick of the dim light and nothing else.

"Her name's Phantom." Carefully taking a sharp vegetable knife, Yusei was directed to start slicing while Trudge was given the dubious authority of making coffee. Police officers the world over are known for making coffee either strong enough to rouse the dead or so disgusting it could empower the drinker with enough rage to never die in the first place. Usually both. "She's helping me with a problem."

"And what problem could be so important that you're banging on my door first thing in the morning?" Martha knew all her children well and couldn't fathom the sort of problem that would require both Trudge and herself to fix. "Is it the same problem that's causing my favourite police chief to call you mad?" Spooning a generous amount of coffee into a mug, her favourite police chief was trying to guess the caffeine tolerance of normal civilians. Years of late nights and double-shifts had given him a tolerance usually only seen in theoretical studies.

"It's about Akiza." Carefully putting down the knife, he tried to avoid focussing too much on his absent friend. Either she was gone and he could get her back or she was dead and this was all going to break him. "I think that something happened to her. Strange things have been happening and I think that it's because she isn't meant to be dead."

"It sounds mad." Deciding that two spoons should be enough, Trudge carefully filled each mug to the brim with boiling water. Empty space was wasted space and enough would steam off to give a small margin for error. "But a few of his points make sense. That girl outside knew what he was talking about before he told her. And the Facility didn't have any records of her arriving." Had he been less concerned with the safety of his companions drinking the coffee and more with actually making it, he would have been able to drink it and realises the problem with his sentence. "Not that she seems to be dangerous."

Taking a mug from beneath his petrified gaze, Martha radiated the serenity of one who possesses both a large wooden bat and the knowledge of how to use it. "A person you met in prison convinced you that Akiza isn't dead and you trust her because somebody forgot to fill in some paperwork?" When she put it like that, it questioned his already shaky belief in the scheme. "And why do you need my help?"

"Because," Waiting until she started drinking her coffee – and astounding Trudge with her stoicism – Yusei dropped to a low mumble to avoid actually voicing the words. Evolution is a fascinating system. Species can branch out in drastic ways to adapt to environment or to avoid predators.

"Why don't you just ask Jack to come yourself?" When it came to human females, they had a remarkable disposition to sound, an evolutionary gift to detect potential predators while they slept and Martha had heard every muttered word.

"You know that things have been difficult between us." _The brothers hadn't spoken more than a handful of times since Yusei had given up on Duelling after the events on Ark Cradle. Jack had simply left to join tournament after tournament and refused to acknowledge his disappointment of a former rival._

He remembered it clearly.

"And you want me to trick him to come here and help you?" More mumbling sounded as he returned to slicing vegetables. "And Crow as well?" Yusei had a feeling that even a loud thought could be detected by a mother's hearing.

"It just seems like it should be the three of us." That was all it had been in the beginning. Kalin had come along later but the three brothers had always been together. Almost as much as Akiza, he felt like the relationship with his brothers had been taken away by something he couldn't quite name.

"Okay." Handing him a box of mushrooms to slice, she took the insanity in stride and started setting the small table in the kitchen. Her current roster of children would be eating in the dining room but her adult children would be needing the privacy to have their private conversation.

"Just like that?" Operating on shocked auto-pilot, he began rinsing the mushrooms and removing the caps. No matter the confusion of his memories, enough of them had been spent helping cook family meals that he could probably do it in his sleep.

"Yusei, our entire island was almost eaten by a giant spider." Most of the global population would never have proof of a higher power. Martha knew first-hand that stranger things existed in the world and that some of them held malicious intentions. "If there's even a chance to help poor Akiza, we will do whatever it takes. Just promise me," Putting aside the knife, she carefully took his hands in her own. "If nothing comes of this, I want you to start going back to therapy." _Except for a yearly check-up, he had stopped seeing a psychiatrist. He couldn't forget what had happened but had learned to live with the pain._

"… Okay." Therapy was a board term. Already, he could feel the soft call of padded walls.

* * *

Having climbed and carved from several trees, her strange exercise was interrupted when Phantom hit a branch that overlooked the garden beside Martha's house. Even though daybreak was slowly drawing closer, it was still earlier than most people would be awake. They also wouldn't be hiding in the shrubbery and digging holes in the dirt. Slipping from the tree, she stepped over the fence by the road and into the garden.

Every aspect of her armour was designed to lower the chance of being detected. Light, sound, heat, the works. There was no way that she could think of to be noticed yet the digger managed to sense her arrival without a single problem. "Shhhh!" Waving one hand for silence, the wizened figure remained hunkered down between lavender fronds. "They'll hear us. Stay low and use your other senses. That's the ticket." Strange advice delivered, he returned to his activity. "According to my research, there should be a container buried near the reeds. Help me dig it out and I'll give you a share."

Looking from the digging intruder to the pair of buildings, Phantom made the sad deduction of logic. Martha lived and ran the vast cottage to care for orphaned children. The neighbouring facility cared for those enjoying the other end of their lifetimes. As a slight growing of light revealed the identity of the gardener, a wave of compassion swept over her. They hadn't met in person although she knew him by reputation. This was Tenzen Yanagi, the first man to tell Yusei about the Signer legacy, archaeologist, hunter of rare Duel Monster cards, chased out of more tombs than more people knew existed and starting a gentle decline into senility. In his advancing age, the once incredible mind was starting to mix past with present.

' _One of the most fascinating aspects that I encountered while investigating the Incan ruins was the sheer scale of the infrastructure.'_ Softly crouching down by the huddled figure, she placed a gentle hand on his arm. Luckily, that peculiar method of overcoming her communication issues was the perfect trick for him to focus on. There was always a quote for any situation and she knew these words would stir in his memory. ' _A person of my stature is of average height in Japan yet I found myself dwarfed by the size of the structures. My guide was equally amused and infuriated by my inability to actually navigate the buildings without being frequently physically lifted to navigate some of them.'_ A tiny wrinkle appeared between his eyebrows as Yanagi's mind gradually began to focus on the present. Once upon a time, he had

"That's not how it happened…" Leaving the trowel in the flowerbed, he looked at the soft blue gaze while straightening up with a sharpening glare. Already bowed when Yusei had first met him, the bone structure had reverted to an almost perfect hunch after the additional decade. "My editor insisted we put that it to make the entire business more 'relatable'. It only happened once, damn it!" Leaning on the guiding arm that had appeared in his grasp, they began shuffling in the direction of the near building. His mind could only focus on one major activity at a time and he barely noticed the journey. "Did I ever tell you about the time I went to that stupid 'Kaiba Temple'?"

 _Tell me again._ Switching arms as gently as she could, Phantom carefully reached around to help balance her quarry as they clambered up the short steps towards the door. There was a ramp available yet she refused to demean the explorer in that way. These steps may not be much but they were as difficult for him now as the vast stone slabs at the Incan temples he had explored long ago and conquering them was as close as he was likely to get to another adventure.

"Smarmy upstart actually named the site after himself. No hard work finding it, just some fancy trickery with satellites." Teetering on the brink of a ledge, he barely noticed that his weight vanished for a moment as Phantom swept him forward. "There were some fascinating murals in that one. An entire chamber that seemed to be more in keeping with Egyptian mythology of the era, though they never reached that far. Definitely Incan methods used to build it. According to rumour," Leaning up as far as he could, Yanagi whispered one of archaeology's greatest secrets to his gentle walking aid. "They say he found something there and took it away before the authorities could stop him. Strange stuff, eh? What do you say about that?" Knocking on the door, Phantom remained as immutable as ever while a light inside came on.

 _You are right._ Their difference in height was so much that she had to take a knee to better look him in the eye. With his gently bobbing head, it was easier for him to look down at her new perch. This was a man she had never expected to meet but had grown to know through the books he had written before his attention began to have a more casual relationship with the present. Pulling together the scattered shards of her own mind, she forced herself to speak in a straight fashion. _They_ _did_ _find something in that temple._

For a moment, those tired eyes focused entirely on the present. Yanagi had dedicated his life to researching the mysteries of the past. "What did they find?" If he could find out just one more answer before his mind fully fell apart, it would be a lovely parting gift. On the other side of the mask, a broad smile grew to match his own.

When the care nurse came to find the most consistently escaping resident, he was astounded to find Yanagi looking down at his trowel with tears of joy starting to bud in his eyes. "Here," Thrusting out the dirty tool, he walked past with an energy he hadn't displayed in some years. "You'll need to replant a few things in the morning. I lost track of myself for a while there." During his more lucid moments, Yanagi seemed aware of his shortcomings and was ready to use any excuse to get out of any responsibility for them. Whistling cheerfully, he practically skipped up the stairs to his room as the nurse looked out at the ruined lawn.

In the trees outside the building, a shadow rustled branches as it continued to slowly carve lumps of bark from the wood. Looking over in the direction of some trampled lavender, an inverted smile flickered beneath the helmet. Hearing the sound of an approaching engine, she rotated the helmet to face an approaching taxi. It appeared that the first of the guests had arrived in the growing light of the dawn.

* * *

To summon Jack was a simple matter. All that Martha had to do was call the private number that the public didn't even know exist and berate him into stopping by for a visit. He would forever deny that it was the offer of cookies which had sealed the deal.

As the taxi pulled up outside the door, Jack slid from the passenger seat and stretched in the fresh morning air. Then he walked around the back and helped the other passenger out. "It'll be nice to see Martha again. When was the last time we were here?"

"Can't remember." Straightening up slightly, Crow adjusted the hang of his clothes. "I suppose that means it's been too long."

"Martha promised cookies." Walking the short distance to the door, he wrapped smartly on the knocker. Both of them knew that the door would surely be locked at the early hour while the children ate breakfast. "That's something to look forward too."

"Yeah." Mustering as much excitement as he could still left him with little. "Sure does." Footsteps sounded just before locks were drawn back and their mother could smile at them. "Hey, Martha."

"Boys!" Grabbing Jack in a tight embrace, she planted a soft kiss on Crow's cheek. "How are you both? Come in, come in." Ushering them over the threshold, she closed and locked the door behind them again. It wasn't muggers she was worried about this time. No matter what Yusei had said, that sinister shadow didn't bode well. "We're just finishing up from breakfast. The kids are eating in the dining room so I thought that we'd eat in the kitchen."

"Who's we?" Although she had tried to sneak it in, there was no disguising the way Martha had said someone else had helped her with breakfast.

"Is that them?" Popping his head around the door, Trudge gave a grim nod to the pair in the hallway. "Good to see you." Following their eyes, he noticed they were staring slightly lower than his face. "It stops the water from splashing on me during the drying."

"It's a flowery apron, that's what it is." As unwilling to let the obvious go as ever, Jack carefully herded his brother towards the kitchen. "Have you considered using it during questioning. Maybe try and upset the criminals into confessing." His antics were cut short as both knees rammed into Crow.

"What are you doing here?" Edging his brother into the room, Jack was able to see what had him so emotional.

"I'm sorry for tricking you." Standing over the sink, Yusei was scrubbing down the last of the pans for Trudge to dry. "It was the only way I could be certain you'd come." Turning around, he felt a pan lid slip through his fingers. Standing in the doorway, the height difference between his two siblings have never been more pronounced. Jack was standing as straight as ever but that wasn't what made the difference so great.

Crow was in a wheelchair. Since when? No, that couldn't be right. He _had been hit by falling debris after defeating Sherry aboard Ark Cradle. Doctors were unable to repair the damage in time and he hadn't been able to move his legs ever since._

Waves of guilt overcame Yusei as memories of physical therapy and repeatedly failed tests filled his mind. In the dream he was clinging to, Crow had been as healthy as the next man. One part of the dream – Phantom – had been proven true. Then why couldn't his brother walk? Why was he seated in an uncomfortable prison?

"Guessing that you didn't think this might be a trap." The words cut through his confusion as Crow pivoted around to stare at his now far gigantic brother. "That Martha just happened to ask you to pick me up and come for breakfast." Jack instantly looked uncomfortable. His mother was the only thing standing between him and the front door and he'd happily choose a mountain instead. Although, the back door was only guarded by Trudge. That might be a suitable exit.

"I just need five minutes." Placing the dishes of food around the table, Yusei carefully shifted around to take his seat. "After that, you're free to do whatever you want." He pulled the table towards him slightly so that Crow could fit in on the far side. He hadn't planned on the wheelchair. After eight years, it should have been second nature. Unless it was another memory that didn't fit.

"Five minutes." Wheeling around to the far side of the table, Crow slid himself into place and engaged the brakes. One brother down, Yusei glanced at Jack. It was all for nought if he didn't agree to even talk.

"… Fine." Drawing out the stool at the head of the table, he seated himself at the edge. For a minute, none of them spoke. Just because the pair had agreed to hear him out didn't mean that Yusei had an easy speech planned which would instantly sway them over to his side. "Four minutes." At the impatient prompt from his brother, he threw caution to the wind and decided to make it up as he went.

"I've been having these weird dreams lately." Munching his way through the free breakfast, Crow was only going through the motions of listening. Jack felt too betrayed to even drink the cup of coffee Martha had given him. He was stoically reverting to only smelling the bitter scent. "Ones where everything happened differently after… after the WRDGP." Nobody had to say it outright but they all knew he was talking about what had happened on Ark Cradle. "And then I started to find things. Little things that didn't make sense with what we remember happened. Inconsistencies with the truth." Tucked into a breast pocket over his heart was that tiny earring which had started it all.

"There were parts that didn't make sense. Details that I couldn't have known." One cheek was still slightly bruised from where Hideo Izinski had struck him. "So, I followed the pieces. Asked Trudge to make sure that it wasn't just my imagination." Glossing over the part where they had originally thought he was going insane right before a prisoner had broken out, Yusei tried to ease his brothers into the crazy theory. "We found someone who knew the same things I did. Who remembered what I thought was just a dream." Again, he skipped past the part where she was currently hugging the trees outside. "It's difficult to accept but I don't that Akiza di"

"Stop it." Looking up with his plate already clear, Crow hadn't expected to hear anything that insane. "I couldn't protect her and I've paid for it every day since." An attempt to push the case again was interrupted by the usually more controlled brother.

"You didn't just lose her, we _all_ did." Actual tears were starting to bud in Jack's eyes. There are few things more unsettling than a crying man and seeing the tall blonde tear up was causing the policeman in the corner to shift uncomfortably. "She was one of us and we failed her. Crow can't walk, that bloody dragon just left us. You don't get to sit there and tell us none of it happened."

"What the fuck is wrong with you two?!" Frustration evolved into outright fury as he grabbed the edge of the table and shoved it away from himself. In his enraged state, it seemed to make more sense than simply moving his chair backwards. Ignoring Martha's shocked gasp, he ploughed out with his screaming monologue. "Just think about it. We've avoided each other for eight years. So how is it that we all happen to be in the same city at the same time?" They all remembered _after Ark Cradle when the twins had left and the three brothers had to face the fact that they had failed to protect their friend. Without even realising it, they had gone from not talking to one another to not living together to not talking at all._

"He's got a point." Lurking by the dishrack, Trudge spot directly to his former charge with more measured tones. "There are dozens of competitions that you could be taking part in right now." Although he wasn't actively Duelling those days, Trudge kept several running 'sportsman' bets on the sport. The running tab included a trip to India, several dozen rounds of takeout and the naming rights to an increasing number of children. "So why are you willing to sit around a table in New Domino instead?" It was a good question for the more active man at the table. There was just one problem.

"Yeah, and where the am I going to run off to?" Shifting in his wheelchair, the youngest brother rotated towards the door. "Not that many people looking for a Turbo Duellist who can't walk."

"That's not what I..." His brother refused to hear it and started to wheel himself to freedom. "Crow!" Trying to grab at the escapee, Yusei managed to catch his arm. Reacting on instinct, the former thief tugged his arm away. What he didn't account for was the difference in stature since the last time he had done it. With flailing grip, he tumbled from his perch.

"Fuck off!" Smacking away the numerous hands which reached out to help, he fumbled with his wheelchair. Engaged brakes, shifted upright. Struggled in as his legs dangled uselessly. Collect his blanket from where it had tangled the floor. Spread it over his motionless limbs. "I've had enough. Screw both of you." Slowly wheeling himself towards the front door, his anger peaked when Yusei stood in the middle of the doorway. "Get out of the way."

"Your legs aren't atrophied." Children knew about basic exercise from their earliest years. Muscles were built through hard work and weakened through lack of use. If Crow had really been crippled for eight years, his arms would be solid lumps of rock and his legs like noodles. "And your arms haven't bulked up. If you'd _really_ been in that wheelchair for eight years, you'd have adjusted long ago."

"That's enough!" Stepping between his brothers, Jack snarled his displeasure. No matter how much his adoptive mother begged, Yusei had drastically overstepped and was heading the right way for an exchange of blows. "Back off."

"And you!" Grabbing Jack by the lapels, Yusei slammed him against the wall in exhausted confusion. He hadn't slept in nearly two days and the crazy was starting to shift out of his control. "If I'm right, you haven't been angry since yesterday. Where's Red Nova, Jack? _Where's Red Nova?!_ " If his crazy delusions were true, the angry young woman who frequently looked like she wanted to tear him apart was containing the mighty beast. If he was wrong, the medical society would have a field day examining his brain to try and figure out what was happening to him.

In both scenarios, it was a massive mistake to grab at Jack's coat when he had no reason to hold back his temper. One punch was all it took to remove the unwanted addition from his lapels. In the dim reaches of his dream, Yusei remembered something very important about the crazy lady hugging trees outside.

"You probably shouldn't have done that." Unfortunately, he realised it at the same time the reinforced front door opened. Not smashed in, not unlocked. One hand was placed outside the top bolt, a foot against the bottom bolt and a shoulder simply leaned against the lock. As an act of simple civility, she made sure to lift the latch while various screws were forced from woodwork.

"What the," Seeing the outline in the door was not enough warning to stop it from grasping him by the throat and lifting him from the floor in the next second. "Fuck are you?" A poor choice of words to spend the last of his air on.

 _The sin which is unpardonable is knowingly and wilfully to reject truth,_ No eyes shone from the midst of the dark visor and a chill radiated through the air about her. Even though he punched back as hard as he dared, the blows were less rewarding than punching a brick wall. _To fear knowledge lest that knowledge pander not to thy prejudices._ Few people would recognise the quote out of hand. Most of them were not the sort of people that should be associated with. Phantom only knew the words because she had been looking for very different information when she read them.

"Remind me how many officers she attacked?" An exact number had not been offered in the icy cell. 'Mass mayhem' was the only vague alliterative descriptor which had been given. "Everyone, calm down." Nobody had ever said those words while attempting to save a choking victim and had anyone pay attention.

"Guys, this is Phantom." Inclining her head, the grim visage refused to utter a greeting as she raised Jack slightly higher. "She's weird but she knows a bit about what's going on." A startled look indicated that he was overestimating just how much she knew. Aside from remembering what had really happened and her one good idea, she was nearly as much in the dark as the next person. "You can put him down." If anything, she seemed to take the words under advisement.

"Put him down, _right now_." A blow from behind actually drew her attention. Holding Jack in the air with one hand left one to defend herself against potential attackers but Phantom hadn't expected the squat, multiple adopter to smack her in the back of the head with an old piece of wood. A faint flicker of blue appeared in her face as she recognised a worthy opponent. Looking at the unbridled fury, she carefully lowered Jack to the ground, smoothed out the wrinkles she had caused and knelt down on the floor with fingers behind her head.

"You have got to teach me how to do that." Looking down at the most complacent prisoner he had ever seen, Trudge was jealous of the way Martha had taken control of the situation. No hostage situation had ever been diffused so quickly before.

"I'm with Jack on this one." Wheeling slightly closer to take a better look, Crow was fascinated by the new arrival. As far as he remembered, this was their first time meeting and he was fascinated by the outfit for the second first time. "Who is she?"

"She's a friend." Standing up, Yusei took advantage of the shocked calm to throw down a more proverbial gauntlet than the one Phantom had been using. "Jack, if you don't want to see me again," Reaching across to the satchel which he had placed beside his chair, he pulled out a familiar shape. "Then Duel me for it. Come at me with everything you've got. If you lose, you have to help me. Otherwise, you're the best Duellist alive." It was a heavy gamble, like everything up until then. If he could get Jack to summon Red Nova Dragon, it would fill his objectives. All that he had to do was push his brother into such a corner that he would have no choice.

"Fine." Taking the object, Jack knew a good deal when he saw one. Yusei was the only person to have consistently beaten him. There was no greater challenge as a Duellist. "After this, you leave us alone." Understanding the difficulty of the situation, Martha made a choice.

"Trudge, give me a hand with the door." Except for the latch – which couldn't keep out a determined pigeon – all the fittings would need replacing. "I think that it's better if we let them get on with it. But if you," And she waved the wooden club under Phantom's helmet. "Touch my boys again, there won't be any armour in the world which can protect you." Blue light filtered out through the visor as Phantom gave a low bow. Much like her earlier interaction with Yanagi, she had never personally met Martha and had accrued a vast amount of respect through what she had learned from afar. If she made a promise, it would be carried out.

* * *

There was a field out behind Martha's house. Not vast enough for a proper sports match but perfect for all those child games which had a million different versions with a billion different sets of rules. It was also the perfect size for a Duel.

"You can still back out." Staring down at his rival, there was no mercy in his gaze. Jack would either crush a worthy opponent or refuse to waste his time on a distraction.

"Can you explain why your Duel Runner is sitting in Poppo Time?" More and more, he was starting to see the gaps between what was remembered and what made sense. There was no way that anyone as proud as Jack would have left behind his Duelling equipment. Yusei had even brought the lengthy Duel Disk in the same bag as his own.

Watching from the sidelines, the spectators were weighing up the competition. "My money is on Jack." Looking up at the silent outline, he detected a faint sense of worry. "I'm guessing that you're betting on Yusei." Even confined to a wheelchair, he was able to weigh up the odds and recognise who had the better chance. What he couldn't fathom was why the thing beside him was so invested in their Duel. "What do you get out of this?"

… She paused for a moment, struggling to voice her reasons. _All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust._

"Yeah." Looking down at his immobile legs, Crow was also starting to notice the cracks in his narrative. Even the short journey to the field had left him with burning arms that should have been a lot more muscular. Delusional hope was still hope. "I could do with a bit of pixie dust myself." Taking up stances on either side of the open, misshapen space, his two brothers settled into place.

(Turn 1)

Yusei: LP: 4000 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

Jack: LP: 4000 Hand:5 Field: None Graveyard: None

As the current victor in their ongoing rivalry, Yusei took the first turn. A decent hand presented itself and he was already starting to see possibilities. "I summon," The last time that he had used these cards had been _fighting betwixt the crumbled ruins of the future and the shining hope of his city._ "Summon…" Words trailed off as he struggled to return his focus to the present. Conflicting memories clashed in his head. A dream where he had recently participated in the biggest tournament of all time and a history where _he hadn't used these cards in eight years_.

"That's what I thought." On the other side of the field, Jack's haughty demeanour came from a place of compassion. "Give it up, you're in no condition to take me on." It was obvious to anyone watching. It had taken all he could muster for Yusei to just draw the cards. Everything that they could remember was saying he had barely been able to even look at the cards for most of the past decade.

As his grip began to slacken, the instruments of his former career started to slip through his fingers. One brushed past his thumb, snagging on the tiny hole he had punctured when pulling out the worn earring from his pocket the morning before.

"I…" Only a tiny prickle even indicated the break in his skin. It was barely anything, nearly healed over already. "I summon…" Before Phantom's garbled words had confirmed something was wrong, before the visit to the Izinski household, before the dreams and crazy half-remembered memories, even finding the earring, Yusei had felt like he was being forced to follow a different path than his own. From the minute he had woken up the day before, everything had seemed fundamentally different from what it should be. And if he wasn't meant to be Duelling than whatever had screwed with his life would have to try a damn sight harder to try and stop him.

"I summon Quillbolt Hedgehog (L2/800/800)." Summoning the single monster was all that he could manage for his first turn. It was amazing that he could bring himself to put it in defence position.

(Turn 2)

Yusei: LP: 4000 Hand:5 Field: 1 Monster Graveyard: None

Jack: LP: 4000 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

"Pathetic. Let me show you how it _should_ be done." Drawing his first card of the game, Jack couldn't shake how readily the Disk felt on his arm. It was supposedly eight years since he had used it yet it felt like only yesterday. "I summon the Twin-Sword Marauder (L4/1600/1000)!" Whirling onto his field, the killer had two weapons and two attacks. Putting his monster in defence position hadn't saved Yusei any time, it had increased his suffering. "Spike that rodent!" Sprinting across the field, one sword plunged through the quailing creature while the other stabbed directly in Yusei.

"Twin-Sword Marauder can attack a second time if the first attack was against a creature in defence mode." Now that she was seated beside the chair, Crow was finding his companion a lot less intimidating and trying to build a rapport by explaining the game. She was bristling with attention and seemed fascinated by the Duel. "And it can inflict piercing damage." Which meant that Yusei had lost over half his health in the first turn alone.

"I place two face-downs and end my turn."

(Turn 3)

Yusei: LP: 1600 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: 1 Monster

Jack: LP: 4000 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Much like Jack, Yusei was starting to feel that he had been using his Duel Disk a lot more recently than the incidents eight years ago. Old instincts were rising deep inside and guiding his hand through the pick of cards. Twin-Sword Marauder was the current problem. Nothing he had was strong enough to defeat it outright. At best, he would leave himself open for another attack next turn. Instead, he would have to bank on Jack summoning another monster.

"I set one monster and three cards." Shield Wing could survive two attack a turn. Coupled with his Half Shield, that meant he could easily survive into the next round. He also had One For One and Counterattack Beacon down as decoys. It was a good strategy.

(Turn 4)

Yusei: LP: 1600 Hand:2 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster

Jack: LP: 4000 Hand:4 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

"Let me guess: you plan on stalling until you can build up your defences and muster a proper attack." In any life, there was only one person who could match up to Yusei and that was Jack. "Since you've set it in face-down, I'd say it's either a high-DEF monster or one with an ability." It had been a good strategy but Jack's was better. "I summon Top Runner (L4/1100/800)!"

"No." Yusei breathed the denial but there was nothing he could do. It was far earlier than he had expected.

"Witness the ruler's heartbeat! Come forth, Red Dragon Archfiend!" On only his second turn, the mighty behemoth erupted from the ground to crisp the air with sheer force. "Take out his monster with Absolute Powerforce!" Although a single blow should have had no effect on Shield Wing, the resulting effect of Red Dragon Archfiend automatically destroyed all the defence position monsters on Yusei's side of the field. "Looks like you were bluffing with those face-downs."

Gritting his teeth, there was little hope in Yusei. He had part of a plan but no way to execute it. There were three cards he needed and he was only holding one.

(Turn 5)

Yusei: LP: 1600 Hand:3 Field: 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster

Jack: LP: 4000 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster

If he was going to force Jack into a corner, it had to be in this next move. Although his new card wasn't the instant solution to his problems, it might be enough to draw just what he needed. "I activate the Card of Consonance!" Sending it and another card to the Graveyard, he picked up a fresh pair from his Deck.

"Card of Consonance sends a Tuner monster to the graveyard to let the user draw two new cards." Nodding attentively, Phantom was staring at Yusei as she tried to figure out what the odds were of Jack summoning Red Nova Dragon if she threatened to break his arm. If the game didn't pick up suddenly, she might have to find out. Luck was on their side that day.

"I summon Hyper Synchron (L4/1600/800)!" It first strong move of the Duel. Not did Hyper Synchron have a high ATK, it was also a Tuner which would benefit any Dragon-type Synchro it was used for. "Since I have a Tuner monster on my field, Quillbolt Hedgehog can come back to the field." Jack knew his brother's Deck almost as well as he knew his own. Most of Yusei's Synchro monsters required a specific Tuner monster with the exception of Stardust Dragon. "And, because a monster was Special Summoned from my graveyard, I can call the Level 2 Dopplewarrior from my hand." No sooner had the monster appeared than it was gone again, replaced by swirling rings. "My hopes coalesce into a single star! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!" Descending from the skies, the glittering beast hovered behind Yusei in the same manner that Red Dragon Archfiend did behind Jack.

"Well, you finally pulled off a decent move." It was obvious what Yusei was about to do. Much the same as his brother, Jack had also been bluffing with one of his face-downs. "Come on then, show me what you can do!"

He was being goaded into it but there was no choice. Hyper Synchron had temporarily boosted Stardust's ATK by 800 points, making it 300 stronger than Red Dragon. Yet the cost of that was it being removed in two turns. Even if there was a Trap which would destroy it, Stardust's own effect would bring it back.

"Stardust Dragon, take him down!" Soaring into the heavens, the glittering dragon sent a stream of shining energy to engulf its opponent. Nothing should have been able to survive the blast which had trees creaking in its wake. Yet, when the smoke cleared, the enraged beast was still in place.

"While you were trying to catch up to me, I was already two steps ahead of you." Dissolving behind Jack was a protective red barrier. "Scar-Red Cocoon." Although its primary use was in negating the effect of Red Dragon Archfiend's target, it could also resurrect the monster if destroyed. "Like I said," He drew a card and gave a vicious smile. "You're in no condition to take me on."

(Turn 6)

Yusei: LP: 1600 Hand:1 Field: 1 Monster 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Monster

Jack: LP: 3700 Hand:4 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster, 1 Trap

It all came down to this moment. There was only one monster Jack had which could beat Stardust Dragon outright. Sure, he had traps and spells and special effects but that wasn't how he played. Jack relied on overwhelming power and would follow the one course of action as surely as the sun rose in the east.

"From my hand, I activate Scarlet Security!" Although a twist that Yusei hadn't seen coming, it wasn't one to worry about. Both of his face-downs had been bluffs and trying to protect them would only leave him open to Red Dragon Archfiend and a quick defeat.

"Well, that just about does it." Part of Crow had been hoping Yusei would pull if off, just so that they could have hope for a little while longer. "There's no way that he can win now. It's done." He made to roll back to the house but a gentle hand rested on his armrest. Looking up at him from the floor, Phantom had the biggest, shit-eating grin he had ever seen.

"I summon Chain Resonator (L1/100/100)!" Trailing a clinking trail, the creepy little figure wouldn't be alone for long. "Due to it's effect, I can special summon another 'Resonator' monster if you have a synchro monster on the field. Come on out, Dark Resonator(L3/1300/300)!" Banging his tuning fork, the first robed blob summoned up a compatriot to join it. Smashing their forks together, the pair slowly dissolved into glowing rings of fire. "Your time is past. The future belongs to me! Double Tune! Red Nova Dragon!" Skies blackened and burned. Clouds billowed up before boiling away. Ground shuddered as the earth cracked with billows of smoke. Buildings quaked as the world fought back against what was occurring.

Giggling with terrified glee, Phantom was aware of incredible things happening beyond what she had once known. Atoms were singing in chaotic harmony, the universe was crying out in chaos as order was shattered apart. "What is it?" Watching the huddled form rock back and forth as it struggled to process everything, Crow leaned forwards in his chair. "What's going on?" Taking the situation under an analytical eye, Phantom began dragging Crow's chair away from the ring with the certainty that caution was better than risk when it came to survival.

"We're not going anywhere." Whatever hold this stranger had over his brother meant nothing to Crow. Instinct told him that important events were about to unfold. Applying the brakes did little to slow the retreat as she proceeded to simply pick up the wheelchair and carry it further away from the carnage.

 _Two steps forward, four wings soar._ Those precious hours that she had used in the cell to try and gather her thoughts went to waste as it crumbled back towards the mess it had been at the docks. Hearing the universe change track will do that to anyone.

Out on the field, everything was getting worse. "What have you done?" Howling as his heart lurched in his chest, Jack could feel the overwhelming anger fizzling away. This wasn't how it was meant to be. And, at the same time, it was. "Yusei, tell me!"

"I was right!" Burning rings that had failed to encircle the dragon were wrapped around the circle like constraining barriers. Trapped in the blaze, the sibling rivals stared out across the distance between each other. "This _proves_ that I was right!" Those encircling rings curved through the air to explode together in an inferno of raw power.

"Right? Right about what?!" Struggling to condense any further, a wave of energy exploded outwards as the flames boiled away into a tiny sun. Knocking Phantom from her feet, the blow failed to throw Crow to the floor as she held tight to his legs where the wheelchair landed. "Explain!" Even shouting from flat on his back couldn't suppress Jack's natural presence.

"Are you okay?" Reaching for the figure from where it had been cast against the ground, Crow tried his best to help them back upright. "What was that?" No answer came as the shapeless blob hurried to take up stance before him once more.

"Remember how it really is!" Events on the field were still continuing. All of the fire was in one tiny spot now, crisping the air into thin panes of hazy colour. "All of it, everything that she did, everything that happened because she was there to support us." All three brothers suddenly had the feeling of falling back inside themselves.

 _She had been living proof that being a Psychic Duellist didn't stop from living a full life. Someone that had endured the worst scorn humanity had had to offer and still managed to reach out with a compassionate hand. Even after years of trying, he still struggled to do anything more than contain his anger. Only a handful of people had earned his respect and she had done earned it two-fold._

 _While he had been chasing one brother around the world, she had been trying to save the life of the other. They had been together since before the beginning and she had been the only one to notice that anything was wrong. Using words that took several dictionaries to understand and methods he hadn't seen outside television to tirelessly search for a cure that may not even exist._

 _The one person he couldn't get to agree to his points. Always arguing, constantly making everything more difficult than he had anticipated. Unwilling to follow his advice, always manipulating circumstances when he wasn't looking. Ignoring the myriad of tests that had failed to produce results and refusing to give up hope. A permanent annoyance in the way he liked being annoyed._

Keeping the unneeded wheelchair from tipping, the silent outline was thinking of a very different tack. Concealed aspects of the already imperceptible armour had kept her fragile mind from being affected by the ongoing situation and she was remembering very differently to all the rest.

 _Falling inside the darkness, floating along where nobody could see. Able to think what was wanted, do what was needed, commit to ideals without restraint. All in the comforting embrace of icy blackness. Looking up from the deepest shadows, it was easy to see everything that was going on in brighter walks of life. To watch everything trying to crowd in and interfere. To reach out and meddle right back with a gentle touch. And then a hand had reached out towards the darkness._

A smile spread beneath a mask as the last vestiges of reality were forced apart and a hole was forced open in the universe. Screaming all the way back into existence, Musume tumbled out of the air in a maelstrom of whirling appendages and shining colours.

* * *

"!" Exactly which insults she used was up for debate. Certainly enough that a second breath was needed in the middle. Eventually, she finished with " _Fuck_ , that hurt." as she cracked the bones in her neck back into place. Looking around at the group with glowing eyes, she gave a tight smile. "Hey guys. Took you long enough." Noticing the laughing figure of Phantom on the floor, she flipped the blade in her right palm into a back-hand grip. "She still mad?" Using one thumb – and the sword it was holding – as a pointer, she spoke to Yusei in her usual angry tone. As always, he had no idea why she hated him. Less.

"You're… Musume?" Like his opponent and fan, Yusei sank to the grass floor. Unlike them, he was only mildly terrified at the sight. Wings fully resplendent, serpentine tail curling about her legs, she wasn't holding anything back.

"Huh?" Noticing the array of petrified looks on various faces – with the exception of Phantom's invisible smile as she sat upright – Musume took note of her appearance. "Oh, yeah." A careless shrug rippled the wings and sent up a small cloud of dust. "Shit!" Trying to regain balance only brought more dust until she was coughing and spluttering all over the place. It managed to detract from the existential horror of her arrival.

 _You ruined your jacket._ Unaffected by the cloud of dust and flapping wings, the jovial armour happily walked up and began pounding Musume on the back until her throat cleared.

"Do that again and I'll rip your throat out." One hand paused in mid-slap as the threat was processed. Straightening up, she adjusted the hang of her jacket. Phantom was right, the wings forced through the back had definitely ruined it. She'd just have to steal another one once everything had calmed down.

"Is that one of my jackets?" Wheeling himself over in his chair, Crow's brow furrowed as his mind started to piece together parts of the puzzle. With clear proof of Yusei's wild claims staring him in the face, the narrative that he had been following was starting to lose control. "Where did you get it from?" It had been one of his nicer ones as well. Hardly any burns on it, only the occasional stain from nobody-knew-what. One of those days, he would have promoted it from 'smart-casual' to 'casual' and just worn it wherever he wanted to. Except for now, when it had a massive gaping hole in the back.

"What are you doing in that thing?" Looking down at the man who had raised her, Musume reached out with to help him up. Unlike the mildly terrified look at her appearance, the replacement look of fear on his face could be considered practically standard. "Oh, sorry." Still held in place by her thumb was the handle of the 'Tender Hands' sword that she had originally gone to Convergence to ask about. "Here," Holding it out to her recent medical aid, she watched as they took a step away. Apparently, the throat-ripping threat had made an impression. "Do you want it back?"

 _There is a reason why all things are as they are._ It was far from a concrete answer but the distance indicated she was allowed to keep it for the time being.

"When this is over," Slipping the blade down one boot, she was privately relieved to keep hold of the weapon. It was comforting to have a weapon that could supposedly cut through anything she wanted it to. "We're going to have a talk."

"If you're really real," Ever the sceptic in any reality, Jack had been cold towards her even before his memories had been messed with. "Then that means Yusei's right about Akiza." Just because he was a sceptic didn't mean that he couldn't connect the dots as fast as either of his brothers.

"And I was hoping that Musume might know what's going on." With a concrete foundation to expand his memories from, what had really happened was starting to return to his mind. How he had worked as a scientist for eight years, regularly replacing the drip keeping the hidden comatose patient sustained. That – until only a few days before – Akiza had been alive and present.

"Yeah, Crow's being lazy." With both hands free, she reached up his arms and pulled him upright with a slight scream and an unavoidable image of holding a giant baby. "Stand up." A whimpered refusal failed to hold any water as the group began to remember that he could walk. Being able to read by the illumination of her eyes was also quite intimidating. "Now!" Any idiot who has taken their phone to the toilet to browse the internet knows the dangers of sitting in one place for too long.

Much like those people, Crow's face became one of moderate constipation as blood began flowing properly in his legs for the first time in two days. The rest of it had been spent seated in a cheap wheelchair provided by the hotel he had found himself in when he woke up. It would take some explaining to return it. Feeling sensation in his toes again, he actually managed to plant his feet on the floor and stand unaided. "Shit!" For all of two seconds before collapsing to the ground.

"Wow." Gesturing that for Jack to kick his fallen brother (having prudently decided that the painful transformations inside her shoes possible being too dangerous) was not only permissible but encouraged, Musume returned to the main problem. "How soon can you get your hands on a car?"

"Trudge brought one with us." Acquiring it would require a convenient distraction – cue Crow's miraculous return to mobility – to swipe the keys and then slip out to steal it. Three minutes work if they wanted to avoid suspicion.

"Nice to see that your friends didn't just throw you in the loony bin." A thought occurred to her in that sarcastic retort. "What I don't get," Frowning slightly only highlighted the shining lines on her face. "Is how _you_ still remembered anything." This was directed at the silent figure of Phantom who had been watching plans be made. "Why did you help him?" Pausing as she considered the question, a faint distraction drew her attention elsewhere for a moment.

 _Knowledge is stronger than memory._ Smiling at Musume, hints of the next strangeness were already starting to appear. They just weren't obvious to people who still had their bodies. _And we should not trust the weaker._ In conjunction with her earlier words at the refusal of the sword, Yusei's internal insanity-sensor started to tick slightly.

"Is there any particular reason you're quoting _Dracula_ or," A blank look seemed to sweep through the field. Like one of those moments when walking into a room only to instantly forget why. Except that it had probably never happened to so many people at once. As Yusei automatically finished his sentence, "Did you have a plan?" with a puzzled look, only the dragon girl who noticed the smile freeze in place seemed to be unaffected.

"Hey. What did you mean?" Tapping the handle of her sword against the unmoving head brought no reaction. "What's going on?" This hadn't been included in the inventory. Then again, not much had been included.

"Are you feeling okay?" Still regaining use of his legs, Crow stumbled upwards to clutch at her shoulder for balance. Memories were still filtering through the lies and that only made it easier to twist them again.

"Something's wrong with her." That darkness had always been unyielding just never so still. It wasn't only invisible; it was now immobile. It refused to move even an inch. And it wasn't just Crow who was confused, Jack was joining in as well.

"Wrong with who?" Hackles of instincts rose from deep inside her gut. "It's just a statue." Whatever protections that had kept Phantom safe had either been overcome or faded away. All that remained was the silent statue.

"Yusei. Tell me you know who this is." Maybe it was just those who had already been affected. Yusei seemed to have some resistance to whatever was happening.

"Who? The statue?" Unlike the freshly trapped figure, Musume had no theories about what could be happening. Nor could she guess how to undo it. She only knew what would happen next.

"Come on." Turning away from the frozen outline, she forced herself not to attack Yusei on sight. "We have work to do." Their mad friend would have to wait. Hopefully, she would recover when they managed to reverse what happened to the world. Otherwise, she would end up as another oddity nobody remembered clearly. Which wouldn't be too different from how she currently existed.

* * *

 _ **I was planning on having these three up yesterday but wanted to do them all at once and got delayed in the middle. At least they're only a year later!**_

 _ **But, please, don't leave your reviews for an entire year.**_


	56. Truth Revealed

There are certain silences so awkward that nobody involved can dare respond to it first. After the dramatic arrival of Musume had started to make the three brothers question their reality a bit closer, they had been slowly remembering bits and pieces of what had really happened. That wasn't the trouble. People forgot and remembered events all the time. What was causing the current silence was their transport situation.

As planned, Crow's 'miraculous' return to walking had been enough to distract Trudge so that he hadn't questioned the emotional embrace. By the time he noticed Jack catching the keys to the patrol car, the pair had fled the house and were driving up the road with him bellowing threats of bodily harm at their dust trail. Waiting right around the first bend had been the obtrusive figure of Musume, still scowling in Yusei's direction. Even that wasn't the awkward part.

What was causing an uncomfortable atmosphere was the seating arrangement. As the tallest of the three, Jack demanded the most leg-room. As the unspoken leader, Yusei was driving. Which had forced the two remaining members of the crew into the reinforced compartment in the rear of the car.

Crow – having once claimed a children's discount at nineteen – was seated as close to the door as he could manage without going through it. One cheek was being slowly imprinted with the outline of the mesh covering the windows as he was forced into the uncomfortable position. Filling the rest of the space with a radiance rarely seen by human eyes, Musume had folded her wings into as narrow a cone as she could and was currently bracing herself an inch from the filthy floor with her tail. Although the group could see through the translucent appendages, they were physical enough to be causing everyone discomfort. Eventually, someone had to speak.

"Are we there yet?" A tight flicker of the membrane pressed against his face told Crow that only extreme restraint was keeping them from crushing his head.

"If you start that," Shifting around in his seat, even Yusei was irritated by the question. "I'll tell Trudge stealing his car was your idea."

"Hey, at least you guys have _legroom_." One of his feet was almost pointing backwards on itself in the confined quarters. Police vehicles were rarely built for luxury.

"At least _you_ can fit on the _seat_." As bad as his position was, Musume was fairly sure that she had it worse. The only arrangement which worked as to curl both wings tightly in, lean herself sideways against the seat with both legs extend into the narrow footwell. Although rationality said that she shouldn't be able to feel with the tail, rationality had been absent from her life longer than she had been alive. "Are we nearly there yet?" An outraged cry rang through the car and Crow began pounding on the wings. One adjustment later and he was wincing and apology to the window. "Well, are we?"

"About another two minutes." Traffic had started to build up over the morning. When he had first left Poppo Time, it had taken only half an hour to reach Martha's orphanage. Now, they would be lucky to reach their new destination within a full hour. "Why are we going to the park anyway?" An instinctive glance into the rear-view mirror only revealed a massive crimson separator between himself and the back windscreen. Not for the first time on the trip, Yusei was glad for the tinted windows on the car. Driving a stolen police vehicle would be hard enough to explain without people noticing Musume.

"Put your hands up if you've got a demon perpetually screaming in your head." No hands went up. "And that's why I'm in charge." Stretching her head as far as she could let her catch a brief glimpse of the road and the signs flicking past overhead. "Okay, now put your hand up if you just missed the fucking exit."

The park they were going to probably had an official name on paper somewhere but nobody cared for it. During the harsh days of the old Satellite, it had been one of the largest green spaces on the island. Violent and dangerous with few avenues of escape yet still beautiful in the daylight. Since one edge bordered the unruly 'Hells End' sector which had resisted the gentrification of the rest of the island, it had become one of the cleanest and crime-free (with the exception of the occasional trading of 'questionable' goods) areas in the city.

Once the group had reverted to sullen silence, the journey there only took ten minutes longer than Yusei had estimated. Parking was still plentiful and he quickly slotted into a space on the outskirts of the car park. Now that they were ditching the car, there was a more difficult problem.

"Do you really think that people aren't going to notice?" Currently struggling to get out of the car, Musume spared a moment to glare at Crow. "I'm sure that it'll work itself out." Wriggling the last few inches, she unfolded onto the tarmac and stretched her sore muscles. "Yeah, _that's_ inconspicuous." Cutting an imposing figure at the best of times, having a pair of resplendent wings unfurling as she stretched was certain to draw attention.

"Here." Peeling off his lengthy coat, Jack held it out at arm's length. "Try this." It took several attempts (including one where she tried draping it about her head like a shroud) but Musume eventually managed to slip both arms in through the sleeves and tie the jacket closed at the front. It was bulky and unflattering but hid the wings just enough to avoid instant suspicion. "The eyes are your problem." Fortunately, there was another fashion guru on the team. Unfortunately, it was Crow.

"If I know Trudge," And he was ashamed to admit that he had seen the inner-workings of that mind enough times to be familiar. "Aha!" Rifling through the glove box pulled out a set of mirrored shades. "Promise not to tell Mina and you're welcome to borrow them."

"Your best idea is to disguise me like a pimp and walk through a public place with the three of you?" Taking a careful look at the resulting outfit, Crow was forced to admit that she had a point. At least he could try and take it as a compliment. Maybe she meant that he would turn heads with his looks.

"And what's your plan?" Appearances were the least of Yusei's issues. He was in possession of a stolen vehicle, on the verge of a nervous breakdown and struggling to identify which memories in his head were real or fake. He also hadn't had slept in a long time and was starting to crave anything with caffeine.

"Simple." Perching the glasses on the bridged of her nose, they managed to dim the light of Musume's eyes. What was left could be dismissed as a reflection of the sun, as long as nobody looked too closely. "Find whatever's doing this, make it stop."

"And you just assume that this thing is hiding in the _park_?" After one look at the size of the jacket, Jack had simply hooked it over one finger and tossed it across a shoulder.

"For the last time," Lowering her glasses, she gave a stare that reminded them all too much of Akiza. "Hands up who has a dragon god playing mix-and-match with their anatomy." One hand went up behind her. "Crow, if you're raising your hand to make a joke, I will punch you." By time she turned around, there were no hands. "Here's the plan." Drawing the glasses up against her face again, she stared at each of them in turn to build suspense. "We go for a walk and look for anything weird."

"That's it?" Crow was slightly underwhelmed. After the miracle of remembering how to walk, he had been expecting a more spectacular plan. When the mirrored shades started to reflect the sun which was directly behind Musume, he suddenly saw the merits of simplicity. "Good call. Let's do it." Eager not to incur her wrath any further, he set a strong march off down the nearest path.

* * *

Trying to be innocuous was a difficult prospect. No matter the surroundings, someone of Jack's height stuck out like a sore thumb. As the currently most famous Duellist in the world, he would draw crowds wherever they went. "Jack." Ever the balancing force in the equation, Crow was the first to broach the subject.

"Crow." Not everything was back in place beneath the blonde hair. Recent months were still in dispute inside his head. Thankfully, the majority of the previous few years was more or less the same as what he had been tricked into believing and the therapy had slotted right into place.

"I think that it might be easier if you went your own direction." A veritable swarm of fans had grown around them and were clustering far too close for comfort. Nobody was actually touching them – yet – but Crow felt the search for weirdness would go a lot faster if they weren't there at all.

"Here's your phone." Tossing the handset over as if it didn't cost more than most people made in a month, Musume followed the same brand of tough love. "We'll call you if we need anything." An outcry was raised as she insulted the beloved icon in the middle of his fans. "Best hurry." She added while adjusting her glasses. "Because I can feel my temper starting to go." Taking the cue, Jack strode away with the fawning fans tailing him like lost puppies. Bringing both hands up to her head, she pulled them through her hair with a grimace on her glowing face. Nobody had been paying close enough attention to realise that the markings were not simple tattoos nor naturally that bright.

"What's wrong?" Yusei knew the face well enough (albeit from a different Izinski) to know the one which meant it was uncomfortable.

"Having these two run free like this is starting to give me a headache." As well as the extra appendages, there was enough raw power flowing through her to power a continent.

"Isn't there some way to, y'know?" Rolling his shoulder back, Crow made a sucking sound to indicate folding them away.

"Not if I want to keep my mind in one piece." Tapping a finger against the side of her head, she disliked lying to him almost as much as she understood the necessity of doing so. If she told him the real reason, it might cost more in the long run. "They're the only things keeping me from going as gaga as you were in that chair." Walking in silence for a bit, Crow felt a burning question form in the back of his mind.

"What happens if we don't find anything?" Looking down at his plodding feet, it seemed impossible that he had woken up unaware that he could use them. "Will everything go back to how it was this morning?" Resting one hand on his shoulder, Musume pulled them to a halt and gestured Yusei to keep on walking.

"I have it on the best authority that we'll get answers." Again, she felt bad for misleading him even though this was far from an outright lie. "All that we have to do is find whatever is causing this. Then, we throw Yusei at it. Preferably physically but I'll settle for what I can get." Pulling a face, Crow wobbled is head in not-disagreement. "Just think about it like this: do you trust me to find it and Yusei to stop it?"

As she lifted up the glasses, the glow in her eyes dimmed. Not all the way, not entirely but just enough that a flicker of memory broke through his mind and repainted the irises in a soothing brown. Just like her mother's. "Yeah." A small slew of information followed the recollection about the eyes and his mouth pulled downwards at the corners. "Why do I seem to remember that you're my daughter?" There were a lot of get-out clauses in that sentence for her to take advantage of. It screamed 'not ready for kids' more than a mid-life crisis and a mullet.

"Well," Patting him on the shoulder, Akiza's offspring led Crow down the path after his brother. "Let's just say that there weren't many choices available." As his mind tried to scream rejection to the fatherhood, he was frog-marched through the park at double-time. Without a tempering influence, their leader had managed to cover significant ground. Considering the situation, Musume would have uncharacteristically considered a degree of caution and restraint. Unusually, her normal approach of rushing headlong into the next problem was actually working this time.

"You're the expert on weird things." Squinting through a treeline on a rarely used path, Yusei thought that he might need to have his eyes checked, regardless of the outcome. "Does that qualify as weird?" Lifting the glasses to better follow his eyeline, Musume really tried her best.

"What?" All that she could see was the faint reflection of light bouncing off the water of a small lake.

"Right there." Aiming his finger with one closed eye, Yusei suddenly had two heads lined up behind his own. "Look, _there_." Not matter how hard he pointed, they refused to see what he was seeing.

"Hate to say it," Even shading his eyes with both hands failed to help Crow see what his brother was seeing. "But there's nothing there."

"Well." If she focused _really_ hard and let the burning in her eyes clock tick up to twelve, Musume could make out something. Not anything in particular but the definite sensation that the area was being forced to act normal. "What's the worst if we check?" Deciding that the answer was 'not much', the pair begrudgingly followed Yusei off the beaten path and through the foliage.

On the other side of the treeline lay a splendid view of a small lake. Big enough for boating but not quite deep enough, no fish or fowl, ringed by trees thick enough that people rarely even noticed it was there. Average in every way and utterly unremarkable. What two of the three couldn't see was what was above the water. "Do you see it _now_?" For the first time in two days, Yusei was nearly certain about something. As much as he could be certain about a possible hallucination.

"Still no." Looking over the tiny puddle for any clue of what he was meant to be seeing, Crow was only operating on faith because it had returned his legs to him.

"Look, it's right there!" As Yusei and Musume fell into an argument of 'no there isn't/yes there is', he quietly leaned against a tree and pulled out his phone.

Whatever was going on at the other end was either a horror film or a fan attack. Either way, there was a lot of screaming. "Jack?" Raising his voice slightly, the ginger was doing equal parts to be heard and to hear himself over the growing squabble. "We might have found whatever we're looking for. I'll send you the area." Taking his phone away from his ear for a moment, he dropped map coordinates over a messaging app. "How soon can you be here?"

"Trust me," Laboured breathing sounded down the line as he struggled to keep the phone in place. "I'm already running." When asked, the answer would obviously be to try and help Akiza. Definitely not because the small flock of fans had grown to a massive crowd which was on the verge of turning into a mob. It was a Sunday and plenty of people had chosen to enjoy a gentle exercise to wind down the weekend. Bumping into a celebrity only adjusted their route slightly.

* * *

When Jack arrived, Crow was holding his white jacket, Musume was awkwardly hovering in a few feet above the ground and Yusei… "Am (g _asp_ ) I( _wheeze_ )," Sucking in great gulps of air managed to make the black dots in his vision start to fade away again. After he had started running, curious parkgoers had paid attention to the sprinting figure. When they recognised him, plenty had started to chase, possibly thinking that he was doing a charity event.

Of course, that meant Jack had been forced to run increasingly faster to outpace them. His legs were burning and both lungs seemed to have collapsed. "Seeing things?" Waving a hand, he took his jacket back and draped it across his shoulder. "How is he doing that?"

"I think we found it!" Hopping back down onto the grass, it certainly looked like he had been floating a few inches above the surface of the water. Nobody present was deeply religious but there were stories of people walking on water. Above water was a bit more impressive since it negated the issue of wet feet.

Musume continued to hover in the air around the lake, not touching down for a single moment. "I don't care what you say." Spotting Jack, she glided in from above to drop the last foot and awkwardly stumble nearby the reunited group. "I still can't see it."

Shining out in radiant splendour was a sight few would ever believe. As if some unstoppable hand had reached back through the ages, an enormous stone structure occupied much of the area above the water with an imposing presence that nobody could ignore. Nobody except everyone claiming not to see it.

"Think of the parthenon." Several key differences separated the Greek ruins from the one before him. Firstly, these weren't ruins. Gleaming stones looked as if they had been hewn from raw marble only hours before and single slabs of pure white walled between the pillars without a seam to join or part them. "You're not the only one who thinks this is weird." Picking another clutch of sticks from the ground near his feet, Yusei tossed them onto the stone steps. Contrary to conventional physics, one set of matter passed straight through the other. Yet his shoes worked perfectly well whenever he placed a trepidatious foot against the first step. It was about a foot from the edge of the lake but he could easily cover the distance.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Happier now that they were making progress, the metaphorical smile was about to be wiped from Jack's psyche.

"Whatever this is, I think that it only wants me." Neither pride nor hubris powered the words. Even if either of his brothers couldn't see the structure, it didn't necessarily prove anything. The fact that Musume's unusual eyes couldn't perceive it meant that it was deliberately keeping everyone else out.

"What can we do to help?" It was an open question. Crow might have mostly been along for the ride so far but that didn't mean he wasn't ready to give absolutely anything to help his friends.

"I don't know what's going to happen one I go in there." Looking up at the imposing structure, he had spied a section styled slightly different from the rest. Laurels framed an invisible crack down the middle. A doorway, just waiting for him to enter through. "But it might be dangerous. For me and the people in the park." Outside of the little grove, the sound of laughter and mixed voices filtered in. "Jack, Crow. I want you to gather as many people as you can. Get them to the car park, just in case anything goes wrong."

Rustling about in his pocket, Jack pulled out two very important objects. Walking over, he thrust them out at his brother. "Here." Although his Duel Disk wasn't strapped to his arm, he never let his Deck go far from his side. "You might need to use these." Held out in his hand were the two cards that nobody else had ever used. Jack was offering him Red Dragon Archfiend and – for the first time ever – Red Nova Dragon. Looking down at the cards, Yusei was touched by the gesture. It had only been a few hours since Jack had started to remember what had really happened and he was willing to give up his signature monsters on the off-chance that they could bring Akiza back again.

"Keep them." Gently pushing his brother's hand back towards him, Yusei made it clear it wasn't out of disrespect for failing to win their earlier match. "You might need them if there's other things trying to stop us." It was a sobering thought. Only he could see _this_ oddity. There might be other ones hidden about that they hadn't found yet.

"You get in there." Grabbing his brother by the shoulder, Jack stared him dead in the eye. "You get in there, you find her and you bring her back. Understand?" Grabbing the hand, Yusei gave a solemn nod. "Right, midget." Throwing his coat on, Jack strode up the hill with Crow by his side. "Ready for a run?" For a man who had been crippled that morning, there was no sweeter challenge.

"Just try to keep up." Waving to the pair on the shore, he let Jack have a few seconds head-start through the trees before following. Sucking in a deep breath, he sounded the ultimate crowd-drawer. "Hey, everyone! **I found Jack Atlas!** " A minor stampede sounded as the crowd began to chase the Duelling icon across the park, gathering members and momentum as they went. After a few minutes, the sound of pounding feet faded away to leave just the two on the small hill overlooking the lake.

Looking straight at the impossible building, Yusei felt a twinge of unease in his gut. "Can you tell me anything about what I'm meant to do?" Pausing in the air, Musume was careful to pick her words. She might have been forced to deceive Crow before but this was the moment that really counted. She had to be as close to the truth as possible without giving away the source of her information.

"Something about a trial that could shame a god. Like a Shadow Duel in reverse." Reaching into the leather satchel he had brought with him from Martha's, Yusei emptied out the contents. It had been an entire decade since using it – or maybe mere weeks – but he was about to use it for the second time that day. "Are you sure you want to go in alone?" A strong force was pushing her back whenever she approached and that was even without the gift of seeing the building. Her next planned attempts involved a bit more violence.

"Yeah." Taking that step which carried him from the hill to polished marble, he stared up at the imposing doors. "If I can't do it and she doesn't come back." Looking back over one shoulder, an unusual force burned in one eye. "Smash your way in and _take_ her back." Then he pushed open the doors and walked through.

* * *

Inside was strange. Thankfully, not in a way that overwhelmed him. More like one of those optical illusions. The elephant with no legs or the ladder with mismatched rungs. Probably the most accurate metaphor was a mirrored box he had seen once. Outside was a simple black cube, inside was a recursive reflection which magnified the interior towards infinity. The space he was standing in was a bit like that.

It was rectangular. A trained eye measured it at about seventy metres across and around a hundred long. There might have been a ceiling but he didn't check for one. Every surface was gleaming white, just like the outside. The outside which had been barely thirty metres across and maybe forty long. Again, not strange enough to overwhelm him. Just enough to be noted. Much like the curved gathering of ornate stone chairs, thrones almost, at the far end of the space. Unmoving in one was a dash of red that Yusei would have recognised anywhere.

Hurrying down the few steps at the edge of the vast hall, he sprinted towards Akiza as fast as his legs would carry him only to be knocked down without having even covered a tenth of the distance. "Akiza!" Standing back upright, he tried again, only to be met with the same result as before. It was as if the air had turned solid before him. Feeling his way along the invisible barrier, he soon met edges at either side. "Akiza! **Akiza!** " Pounding on the empty space did nothing more than hurt his hand as his words failed to rouse any reaction.

"No matter how hard you scream, she will not respond." The voice was feminine, even pleasant and echoed from all around without a visible source.

"Who are you?" Stuck in his little box, Yusei could do nothing but ball his fists tight enough to risk drawing blood. "Why are you doing this?" Silence reigned for a moment.

"Do you know where Aion is depicted in the pantheon? Not above, with Zeus and the gods." In the midst of the semi-circle of stone chairs, a soft light began to grow. "Not below with Hades and the demons." Solidifying into a white-robed figure, he could just barely make out a mouth. When it moved, the words echoed around the hall. "Not anywhere that man could imagine." Marble walls bled away until all that was left was the floor they stood upon and towering columns stretching high into eternity.

"Where are we?" As he struggled to think up a strategy, the white robe stepped from between the thrones at a steady pace. "The Spirit World? Another dimension?"

"Nothing so mundane." Pacing forward until they were an equal point between the two humans, the entity which had identified itself as Aion extended each arm until elbows could be seen peeking from the sleeves. "This is the place where realities do and do not come to pass and I have slumbered since my brother perished." Unbidden, entire planets were colliding and exploding in the endless emptiness. Horror and beauty on an unimaginable scale played out across the space and threatened to capture Yusei's gaze if he ever looked away from his goal for even a moment.

"Why did Phantom and Musume remember Akiza?" Since entering the structure, both sets of memories had slowly begun to take up an equal stance in his head. A world without Akiza and one where she had disappeared a few days ago. "How did I dream of a woman who was meant to have died? Why even allow me here at all?!" Each question was shouted to cross the distance with little more noise than a whisper at the end.

"Ah yes, your little pair of aberrations." Just like before, her voice seemed to resonate from all around and cut through the distance without effort. "That child of yours was nothing special. It was her little helpers that did the heavy lifting and kept her intact, though they were hidden from me for some time. And that fractured thing that helped you call her back... I admit that it managed to elude me because I failed to look hard enough." Despite the impossible reach of Aion, it seemed that Phantom had once again gone unnoticed. "And there's something about you that I must have overlooked that let your old memories seep into new dreams." A wave of memories crowded the room with hardened men and women dressed in ancient battle garb before reality overwrote them again. "These trials were a family idea – not that I agreed with it. They decided that any mortal foolish enough to challenge us was brave enough to wager their own fate. Few tried and fewer succeeded."

"A trial which could shame a god..." In a flash of insight, he understood what Musume had been trying to explain. A Shadow Game would punish the loser and award the victor nothing that they didn't already possess. If this challenge could be considered 'the reverse' then it would reward the victor and only block the loser from any change. "I challenge you to Duel. If I win, you change everything back to how it was. Akiza comes back with me and everyone remembers her again." For a moment, she contemplated the offer.

"That doesn't benefit me." Parts of the puzzle were still clicking into place in his mind. This woman called Aion claimed to be part of the Greek Pantheon. Yusei had never studied them in any detail. All that he knew was a handful of the more popular names. Zeus, Poseidon… Mars? No, Ares. Regardless, he had never heard of Aion.

Remembering the words of advice that Musume had offered him before he had entered, he made a second attempt. "We Duel. If I win, Akiza comes with me and everyone remembers her." He understood why she had rejected his original offer. There was nothing to be gained if she won. The only way that his loss would mean anything was if nothing was to change from the current situation. "If I lose," Swallowing, Yusei used every iota of his intellect to search for another way out. None came to mind. "Then you can have my memories. Erase the past two days and make it so that we never suspect anything." Ever since he had woken up from the turbulent dream, it had been like soup in a strainer. No matter how hard he tried, parts had been steadily dripping away. In a few days, they would be gone again. This would just make them stay that way.

"ῥητός." Peeling back a lengthy sleeve, she displayed a gleaming white Duel Disk with a Deck already loaded. It hadn't been there a few moments earlier. "μονομαχία!" Yusei didn't need to speak the language to recognise the meaning.

(Turn 1)

Yusei: LP: 4000 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

Aion: LP: 4000 Hand:5 Field: None Graveyard: None

"I set two cards and a monster." He was in utterly uncharted territory. Not only did he have no idea how Aion duelled, he barely even knew anything about where she came from. It was like having to take on the Crimson Dragon. A flash of insight revealed just how much difficulty Musume went through every day as the turn passed over to the literal god standing at the other end of the field.

(Turn 2)

Yusei: LP: 4000 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Aion: LP: 4000 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None

"I activate the Field Spell, Olympus!" An invisible ripple spread through the air and coloured the walls with acts of days long past. It didn't take a historian to recognise the Greek outfits and customs being portrayed between soaring pillars. "All Olympian monsters can't be destroyed by battle and gain 500 ATK." Such a care would normally be cheating. Normally, he also wouldn't be Duelling a god in a realm between realms so Yusei decided not to press the issue. "I summon Ares, War Olympian (L4/1800/300)!" Materialising in one of the thrones behind her, a finely sculpted physique of a man walked onto the field, resplendently dressed in antique Greek soldier's uniform. "Ares, destroy his monster!"

"I activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" As a spear was sent hurtling towards him, the rusty defence appeared just in time. Even so, Yusei was forced to dive away as shards cut through the air. These attacks were more than holograms or illusions. Just like a Shadow Game, everything was dreadfully real.

"I set two cards and end my turn."

(Turn 3)

Yusei: LP: 4000 Hand:4 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

Aion: LP: 4000 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

"Why are you doing this?" Drawing his card, Yusei tried to fathom the reasoning behind it. Maybe once, he had been important but not for years. One thing that his memories agreed upon was the Crimson Dragon departing long ago. "What did we do that you felt this was necessary?"

"It is not what you have done but what you will one day do." This was an argument that Yusei had heard before and it held no water with him. But that wasn't his concern just then.

"Then why take Akiza? Why not me instead?" If he was going to perform an act so horrendous that a god felt necessary to intervene, he could accept his fate. But he would sooner die than let any of his friends be punished for his crimes.

"Because the work of your life here will greatly affect the course of humanity. The witch was not important." Rage, pure and simple, boiled up inside Yusei.

"She is to me!" Why one of the cards in his hand was present was a mystery. All that he knew was it would be invaluable down the road. "I summon Road Synchron (L4/1600/800)." Grinding onto the field on what was best described as a balancing act on a single stretched wheel was a little yellow robot. "Now that I have a Tuner on my field, I can summon Boost Warrior (L1/300/200)." Bursting up from the ground, the short man with red hair reminded Yusei of his brother in the world outside. "By placing two Triangle Tokens on your side of the field, I can special summon Triangle Warrior (L2/600/1200)." An inverted triangle with appendages, it looked like a cheap cartoon design but slightly less than the two smaller versions which appeared on Aion's field. "And together with my face-down Level 3 Arbitrator, the numbers add up to one conclusion." Dissolving into rings and merging together in a familiar outline, a glittering outline began to form. "When used for the Synchro of a monster other than Road Warrior, the level of Road Synchron is cut by half." Yusei knew he was being reckless but he was beyond furious. "Come forth, Stardust Dragon!" Bellowing in a rage of its own, the mighty dragon distorted the already stretched space to impose on the Duel.

"It makes no difference." Standing indifferently as streams of energy diverted around Ares, Aion took little damage from the attack. "I know the future of every card in your Deck. They are as clear to me as you are standing there." A prickle of instinctive fear began to penetrate his seething rage.

(Turn 4)

Yusei: LP: 4000 Hand:1 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 4 Monsters

Aion: LP: 3800 Hand:4 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

"In one turn, you've eliminated your forces, drained your reserves and inflicted a paltry amount of damage." Drawing her own card, she barely gave it a glance before stacking it into her hand. "For a mortal, it is a worthy achievement. My thanks for the tribute that you so generously provided." On either side of Ares, the two Triangle Tokens were eclipsed by blue flame. "I summon Hades, Underworld Olympian (L8/1800/0)!" The twin fires merged into a mighty pillar of fire which drilled down through the floor. Rising up out of the rubble came a floating spectre, topped by a twisted face composed of pain and hellish flame. "Lord Hades can't be destroyed by battle and gains power from every creature that he takes into his domain."

" _Lord_ Hades?" When she had summoned the monster, it had just been Hades. Where had that title come from? A flicker of annoyance crossed beneath that hood.

"Although your beast is yet strong enough to survive, its time is coming. Count on that." Without much other recourse, she ended her turn with a face-down.

(Turn 5)

Yusei: LP: 4000 Hand:2 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 4 Monsters

Aion: LP: 3800 Hand:2 Field: 2 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None

"What is it that you think I'm going to do?" Playing for time, Yusei was also keen to learn the answers. "Why not just tell me so that I don't do it?" It would certainly have been less effort than toying with his memories, kidnapping Akiza and challenging him to a Duel.

"Reality isn't as simple as your kind believes." Watching from afar, transcendent eyes were mapping the possibilities of his cards. "This was the best way to avert the coming calamity." Settling on a future, Aion showed no outward sign of emotion. Similarly, she felt none inside either. "Your Card of Consonance will serve no purpose in this fight." Looking down at the card, he didn't need an explanation of her abilities. They were real, that was clear.

"Well, it can't hurt to try." Discarding the Tuner monster held in his hand, he drew a pair of new cards. One could be immensely helpful later on and he was quick to throw it down. "Stardust Dragon, shave off a few more life points." He might not have been able to destroy the monsters but he could wriggle in a little damage all the same.

"Temporal Attack, activate." As the stream of energy approached the warrior, it slowed to a halt. "This negates your attack and inflicts half the damage to you at the beginning of your next turn." With just the one monster to defend him, Yusei was forced to end his turn.

(Turn 6)

Yusei: LP: 4000 Hand:1 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 5 Monsters, 1 Spell

Aion: LP: 3800 Hand:3 Field: 2 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Trap

"I summon Poseidon, Water Olympian (L4/1300/2500." Frothing up from a puddle came a stout man in a tangled beard. The scent of saltwater hung heavy about him and there were scales adorning parts of his body. "And I activate Temporal Summon." A wind-up clock suddenly filled one of the spaces on her field. "This card allows me to summon one monster. However, if the monster is still on my field next turn, all of them are destroyed. Arise, Hephaestus, Fire Olympian(L4/1900/1600)!" Bellowing in pain and fury, a heavily burned blacksmith joined the already impressive ranks on Aion's field.

Aion… Aion… Aeon? Making a small leap in logic, Yusei felt a chill settle into his bones. An aeon was an incredible length of time. A random titbit he had picked up somewhere was that it had been named after a deity. "Are you Aion, the God of Time?" Ancient Greek theology was not a subject he had spent any length of time on. As he remembered, the Greek god of time was Chronos. Like figuring out Aion, he knew it as the route word of 'chronology'.

"That was how your ancestors understood it." It certainly explained her theme. Olympians and Temporal cards. "Their understanding of my reason was impressive for their state of advancement. My brother kept the past and future separated from the present. I had a more difficult role." Ending her turn, the news of her identity distracted Yusei from realising her field would be emptied on the next turn.

(Turn 7)

Yusei: LP: 4000 Hand:2 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 5 Monsters, 1 Spell

Aion: LP: 3800 Hand:1 Field: 4 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Spell/Trap

As Yusei's turn began, he was instantly treated to the delayed damage from his attempt to strike Aion during his previous turn. Once the light and pain had died down, he was able to ask a straight question. "If you're a god of time, then why not just tell me how I can avoid this calamity you think I'm going to cause?"

"I tried to make it clear to you." Aion was unbeatable in every scenario he could think of. Any plan put in motion was powerless against one who could see it before it happened. "Recreated your first battle with the hunter in perfect detail before letting the damage seep through at the end."

"What Du" Memories of his repeated battle against Hunter Pace surged into Yusei's mind as part of him argued that the pair had never met in the finals. "That was _you_?" It finally made sense. Their Duel had been identical right up until everything had changed. Their hands, their Graveyards, all of it.

"Of course it was!" Another flicker of irritation turned the floor to granite for a moment before it changed back to pure marble. "How else would you have accounted for it? Is humanity still so blind that it can't see that which is right in front of it?"

"It wasn't the first time we'd seen it happen!" It seemed like a foolish notion now. Musume was containing two of the most powerful entities they had ever come across and been uncertain if either of them had been involved. They had never thought to think further afield.

"Really?" In her haste to rise to the occasion, Aion had neglected to do more than actually skim through the history of her targets. Only a few years here and there with most attention paid over the last eight years. Everything that she needed to make them forget Akiza.

(Turn 8)

Yusei: LP: 2750 Hand:2 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 5 Monsters, 1 Spell

Aion: LP: 3800 Hand:2 Field: 4 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Spell/Trap

Despite his best effort, it appeared that they were entering a holding pattern. Although not the best result he could hope for, it meant that Yusei could plan and prepare to break out of it with an advantage. Unless Aion got there first. "Due to the effects of Temporal Summon, my four Olympian monsters are now destroyed." The black cloak of Hades spread out across her field, snaring its compatriots and dragging them all down through the blue fire it had come from. She was left with only one face-down on her field. It was either very powerful or just a distraction in the calm before the storm. "With four of his brethren lost to the underworld, my most powerful ally will now be realised." Clouds rolled in above as lightning flashed and thunder boomed. "By rescuing them from damnation, I can bring forth a power greater than your kind has witnessed in thousands of years." More lightning crashed together now, forming a mighty pillar of smoke which peeled away to reveal the sternest man Yusei had ever seen. "Zeus, King Olympian (L10/3500/3000)!" Wrapped in a white toga and carrying a sparking bolt of lightning in either hand, it was one of the most impressive spectacles that Yusei had ever seen.

It was also more powerful than Stardust by a long stretch and much, much bigger.

"Mighty Zeus, smite down this beast." As he ran for cover from the crackling electricity raining down on him, Yusei noticed it again. A strange addition to the name. "You fought valiantly." A few volts had managed to sneak past his attempts and crisped Yusei slightly. "Be proud of what you have achieved." As he picked himself up, he noticed the reason Scrap-Iron Scarecrow hadn't worked in his frantic sprint to evade death. Nearly hidden behind Zeus' left ankle was a Trap Jammer card.

It was a bad situation to find himself in but Yusei had been laying contingencies ever since regaining his cool head. "I know your strategy." Standing on the far side of the field, she had seen this moment coming since the Duel had started. "You intend to use Synchro Spirits to resurrect the monsters you used to summon Stardust Dragon and forth Road Warrior." Mouth dry, Yusei realised that he was being backed into a corner even more effectively than he had tricked Jack that morning. "Using its effect, you plan on summoning Sonic Chick to protect yourself indefinitely until you can compose a strategy to defeat me." Drawing a card from her hand, Aion seemed bored by the theory. "I activate Specimen Inspection."

"No." It was an old card from years back and exactly what she needed to stop his plan in its tracks. By declaring a specific type and level, she could send a monster straight from his Deck to the graveyard. And Road Warrior was the only Level 8 Warrior-Type that he owned.

"No-one has challenged me before and won." Slipping through his grasp, the card vanished into the graveyard and his plan along with it. "Be proud that you came this far."

(Turn 9)

Yusei: LP: 1750 Hand:3 Field: 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 7 Monsters, 2 Spell/Trap

Aion: LP: 3800 Hand:0 Field: 1 Monster, Graveyard: 4 Spell/Trap

Staring down at his Deck, Yusei couldn't grasp one simple fact: that anyone had ever won. Aion had said it herself, back when he had challenged her. 'Few tried and fewer succeeded.' Which meant that people had won in the past. Others who had refused to bow their heads.

Staring out over the space, he looked past Aion, past Zeus, to the uncomfortable chair in which Akiza still slumbered. There was no way that he would be leaving without her. It wasn't going to happen. While he had been going through the motions of living out his final days, she had burst in and given him hope. Hope…

Looking down at the Deck strapped to his arm, he felt that same hope starting to ignite inside him. "I want to up the stakes." It was a final roll of the dice. Either she was right and he was going to lose either way or Yusei was about to show up a god and win it big. "If I win, you have to help prevent whatever it is that you think I'm going to do." Aion paused, perturbed by the display of resolution.

"You have a remarkable tenacity." Weighing the risks for herself, she wondered if all of humanity had potential to share such strength. "What do you barter in exchange? Will you accept to leave your life behind and begin anew in a different land? To never again interact with anything which might cause you to remember?" Her best attempt had failed once already. Further actions might be needed to reinforce the narrative she planned to feed him.

"If I lose, you can put me on the moon for all I care." Putting on his best game face, Yusei knew that there was no way he could do this alone. But he wasn't alone. Looking over at the scarlet mane, he made himself a silent promise for when this nightmare was finally over. "It's a deal. Now, I activate Synchro Spirits!" For a moment, his opponent appeared disappointed. After such a display of inner strength, it seemed to have been nothing except a cover for his denial.

"I know the future of every one of your cards." Sighing across the space, she was impatiently awaiting her turn to end this charade. "None of your Synchro monsters can be summoned without a specific tribute and the only option you had was Road Warrior. Your future is empty."

" _Perfect_." Over in her pedestal, an unwitting prisoner began to stir. "Because that means I can write whatever I want in there." Aion was not unsettled. All that she had to do was look into the futures of his cards and see that they went nowhere. As they had done all along. "Let's write this one together." On his field, three of the monsters began to dissolve into beads of light.

"What is this?" Looking further ahead, she still saw nothing. All of his choices and decisions had led here and no further. His cards had no future and neither should he. This should have been impossible. "How are you doing this?"

"A cold flame warms the stars," A quake ran through the room. Not one of Aion's slips which had displayed images on the wall or illusions of days long past. This was her losing her grip and letting the edges of her control weaken. "Dark flowers which inspire the cosmos." A pillar of palest rose exploded behind him and scattered petals around the entire hall. "Appear! Black Rose Dragon!" Coiling up from the earth in thrashing tendrils and razor-sharp petals, the beautiful monster filled the impossible place with its scream.

In the world outside, an anxious onlooker noticed the flicker in the air. Not much but enough to spot the outline Yusei had described. "There you are." After so long repressing the two creatures inside her, letting them have a longer leash had been uncomfortable. Yet it was definitely worth it at the moment. Falling gracelessly to where she had seen Yusei enter, one massive purple fist was drawn back. "Knock, knock."

Having the doors explode in behind him was the least exciting part of his day. There was only one person with the drive and ability to break in and – for once – they were in complete agreement. "Get Akiza." Keeping his eyes locked onto Aion, he was gambling that she couldn't do anything. If she tried to stop Musume, it would break off the Duel and he would win by default. Not that it mattered. He was starting to remember the past months, years. Working at the SRC, participating in the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament. Everything.

"Can you still see the future?" Pulling a card from his graveyard, Yusei displayed it plainly for his opponent to see. It had been discarded by Cards of Consonance to gain a fresh hand. A tactic which Aion had said wouldn't be of any use. "Because I think your gift has left you blind in other ways. Black Rose Dragon," Curling protectively around him, the vicious beast hissed at the towering being on the other side of the field. "Cut that sparking fool down to size with Black Binding Bloom." Puffing out a deep breath, thousands of sharp petals swarmed about Zeus and began slicing through the out layer of his muscle.

"So what?" Terrified now that she could no longer predict the outcome, Aion was as lost as Jack was with three maps, two guides and a literal Sherpa trying to show him the way. "Mighty Zeus cannot be destroyed by such a lowly creature. It," Those eyes! In all her many centuries, she hadn't seen eyes like those!

"Never." And he reached for a card that had been waiting a long time. "Insult her that way again. Rose Curse!" Until that moment, the only damage that Aion had taken had been the consolation points she had let Yusei score at the beginning, sure that she had been leading him down a path to failure. With a sudden shift in ATK points, Rose Curse was able to take that number and inflict it to her as damage. Worse, the effect of Black Rose Dragon was still in effect. Her only line of protection was a crippled god. "Black Rose Dragon." Looking up at the monster, the last of Yusei's memories fell into place. He had won and the conditions were fulfilled. "Bring her home."

Game Over

Winner: Yusei Fudo

* * *

"That's impossible." Cards tumbled from her fingers only to fly back to Aion's Deck. They were as tightly bound together as any family and loathe to be apart. Near the seats at the rear of the hall, a column cracked and fell. Then another. Each one let the space inside the hall almost wash away as the natural state of the place they were in start to encroach once more.

"Maybe you are a god of time." Whatever pressure had been preventing him from coming any further had vanished with the end of the match. Walking across the space, he was passed by Musume carrying a half-conscious Akiza out in one arm. "But when it comes to games?" Towering over the defeated party, Yusei seemed to swell into enormity with his overwhelming presence. "I'm the King of Games!"

Another pillar crumbled and fell, letting more of the almost-reality wash into the place. "That blasted dragon of yours had enough of a connection to its overlord to stop me targeting you directly. It forced me to manipulate your memories, hide Akiza away personally." Not exactly gracious in defeat, Aion was spitting the words at him. "I witnessed the future of every one of your cards. When they would be drawn, how they would be used." A wave of possibility rushed over the plain thrones and took them back to the raw material they had been forged from. "How did you do it?" Barely able to stand, Yusei almost towered over the diminished deity.

"Not my cards." What narrow path they had left to the entryway was vanishing and leaving the pair stranded on a disappearing island of reality. "My Deck mixed with Akiza's. A few cards changed it from being mine or hers to being ours." A simple accident after collecting his Deck following the events on the burning boat. And the result had been strong enough to rewrite their fates. A brief scent of real air and proper water made it clear that his efforts had pulled through. Akiza was safe, Musume had seen to that. Even with their tiny island shrinking by the minute, Aion remained bowed on the rubble-strewn floor. It was a pathetic sight for one such as her.

"We're going." Aion looked up in amazement. Nobody who had come before had ever shared the slightest hint of humility or care towards the losing party. Gods looked down on people and people feared gods. That was how it had been for all of history. "Don't forget," Grabbing bundles of cloth in his hands, Yusei threw the weakened enemy over his shoulders. "You set out to stop a calamity. It's going to be hard to do that if you stay here."

Sprinting as fast as he could go only seemed to make the void chasing him grow faster. Stones frequently dipped from below his feet and fell into the growing abyss and – on more than one occasion – he had the disconcerting feeling that parts of his feet were actually dissipating before reconstructing themselves as the void nagged at his heels. As he neared the translucent portal to the outside world, part of the roof above collapsed and let chaos flood into the area.

For a moment, he paused at the egress and looked back on the dissipating arena. In a single moment of compassion, he realised that this was what Aion beheld every second of existence. That something could possibly undo all that had come before and must never occur. Then he stepped through the archway and let the pantheon disappear once again.

When he had entered the strange building, it had been floating a few inches above a pretty little pond. When he stepped out of it, gravity took a sharp look in his direction and pulled the pair towards the expanse of water with a vengeful grip. Three inches of water is enough to drown a person. Coupled with the additional weight of an entire additional person, the three feet he was floundering in was definitely enough to put up a fight.

Breaching the surface, he noticed a sight both wonderful and aggravating. "No, don't help." Keeping Aion's head just above the waterline, he began wading ashore.

"Wasn't planning on it." Ignoring the struggle in the water, Musume was bracing Akiza upright. They were having a difficult conversation trying to explain why she had woken up in the middle of a Duel between Yusei and a Greek deity taking place in a floating partheneon. It was neither a quick nor easy explanation.

"Thanks." Flopping ashore, he literally dropped his cargo the minimal safe distance from rolling back into the lake and collapsed about a foot closer. "Really." Aside from nearly letting him drown – which was par for the course – Musume had been invaluable in getting him this far. Without her help, he wouldn't have ever reached the park.

"Don't mention it." Ignoring his current struggles, she was more interested in the state of her mother. "Are you okay?"

"She was never in any danger." Breathing heavily on the damp soil, Aion was struggling to process the first loss she had ever experienced. She was sure that every eventuality had been planned for. Sheer, dumb luck had beaten her. "Once enough time had passed to prevent the coming calamity, I would have released her back into the world."

"Keep talking and you'll see me really lose my temper." Because her mother was present, Musume was resisting the urge to tear the kidnapper apart and beat her with her own bloody limbs.

"Wait," Still catching up on the events she hadn't been entirely present for, Akiza could grasp the theory readily enough. "Your plan was to keep me asleep on a stone chair for years on end?" Because her daughter with anger issues was present, she was resisting the urge to walk over and begin kicking the fallen figure.

"That seat belonged to Aphrodite. You should be grateful for the honour." Because Yusei was sick of his head being messed with and had little patience left, he did flail one exhausted leg in the rough direction of the speaker. Then he remembered the way she had been referring to her monsters.

"And where is Aphrodite?" Rest period over, he stumbled to his feet. Seeing Akiza safe was enough to drive him for a while longer. "Or Poseidon, Ares or the rest?" There had been twelve empty seats in the vanished building. If he was a gambling man, he would have bet that their owners hadn't used them in a while.

"Gone." An empty tone underlined her words. "I am the only one left."

"What happened to them?" Musume knew that voice. She had heard it before. It had used to be hers.

"My family loved the company of our people." Sitting upright, she began to wring out the white robe. It was sodden from the brief immersion in the water. "When their world began to change and faith began to wane, my family decided to spend their last days with their followers. Even my brother departed to fade alongside them." The decline of the Ancient Greek empire was a bloody affair. After Alexander fell and Rome invaded, the empire crumbled. With their faith starting to dwindle, the various gods had gathered up remaining followers and gone off to join them in the twilight. "I'm sure that it brought them all some comfort."

"Can we circle back to why I was kidnapped and where I've been for the past two days?" Giving a tentative sniff, Akiza was building up through the smaller details first. Last time that she had missed two days, it had involved studying, dangerous levels of coffee and a smell she didn't wish to smell ever again.

"Why are you being so forthcoming?" Three thoughts occupied Yusei's mind. Foremost was Akiza's wellbeing. Last was they would deal with the fallout of everyone forgetting she had existed for the last two days. (That one was a more minor concern. People forget people every day.) Sandwiched in the middle was that Musume had just used 'forthcoming' in a sentence. "Fuck off." Noticing his glance, she also remembered that her mother was standing two feet away. "Shit." Which didn't help her credit.

"I agreed to the terms of the trial." Pulling back her hood, an icy mane of silver hair cascaded out over Aion's back. "I'm bound to my word and must assist you in stopping the coming calamity." Standing up, she turned to face the group for the first time.

"Now's the part where you actually tell us what that means." Golden eyes stared at Musume from an olive complexion with a look she hadn't seen before. Not contempt but closer to disdain. Like that one co-worker who always flouts the rules and constantly gets away with it because they know the boss.

"Nothing that your kind has ever faced before." Looking at her recent defeater, a slight scowl settled on her face. "And you're right in the middle of it." Gazing at him with sight that went far past what they could understand, even Aion was struggling to recognise what she was seeing. "You and yet… not you. Just not yet." Taking a step forward, she stumbled slightly.

"Hey!" Musume would generally have shoved anyone stumbling in her direction away but Aion actually fell as she approached. Instinctively catching the falling figure, her still glowing fingers detected the sort of strangeness that should have been over. Throwing the pair into Akiza, she dragged all three to one side just as another bolt of darkness speared into the ground where Aion had been standing. "Run!" Dragging her mother in one hand and the shuddering body in the other, Musume sprinted into the treeline with Yusei barely following before another one smashed into a tree beside his head.

"What's happening now?" It should have been over after beating Aion. That's what he had planned on. Hopefully, Musume had some insight into what this new twist was.

"No idea." Although most of the visitors to the park had been distracted by Jack, there were still a plenty of pedestrians hanging around to get witness the impossible. Grunting between steps, Musume managed to slowly recede the wings and tail until they disappeared over several seconds. "Nobody mentioned this." Realising that carrying a body in one hand was probably the second-most likely part of her appearance to draw attention, she tucked one arm around her shoulders and threw the other to Yusei. "How bad is it?"

Struggling to keep up with the constantly changing situation, Akiza's healing instincts could at least focus on her patient. Smoothing out the robe as she ran along behind the trio, any concern about the entourage was alleviated by the sight of a famous Duellist with a Duel Disk one arm and a famous doctor in tow. It was obviously a horrible accident during a Duel and they were running for medical aid. "It looks like she was burned." Enough damage had been done that she could tear open a small hole to examine the surface beneath. "Whoa!" Even in the midst of a panicked fleeing, her tone was enough to draw Yusei's attention.

"What is it?" Shifting the arm over his head, he held it in front of him as they continued to run in the direction of the car park. "Urgh." What looked like skin wasn't probably not meant to bubble and stain like that. Like custard on a heat too high.

"I don't know what to do." Stumbling as they reached the gravel car park, she had no idea even what sort of wound it was. Nothing in medical school had covered what to do when a former god was struck by a blast of pure darkness. "Did you bring a car?"

"Oh, _yeah_." Spotting the patrol car, Musume reached out a hand towards Yusei. "Keys!" They were in a rush and there was no time to argue. Tossing over the set, he hoped that she knew how to drive a car. From their experience in America, he knew that she hadn't learned to drive a Duel Runner until the opportunity had arisen. "You," Dropping the arm she had been holding, Musume gave the other redhead a slight push around the car. "You're riding shotgun."

Sliding in after his quarry, all doors shut within a second of each other and the same second in which Musume had the vehicle childishly skidding around to spray gravel and shot towards the exit.

"Who was that?" There hadn't been time to check for the attacker. Maybe Aion had seen who it was in advance. Unfortunately, she wasn't in any condition to provide any great insight.

"My brother told me something before he left." The pain burning through her was beyond human comprehension. "That the past was behind him, that he would live in the present and the future was mine to protect." Gripping him by the front of his jacket, she stared into his eyes with an intensity born from desperation. "I will stave it off as long as I can. The rest is up to you." Pulling him in close, she whispered into an ear. The last words were barely out before her grip slackened.

"She's unconscious." Checking for a pulse, Yusei regretted their choice of seating arrangement. He only had a basic understanding of human anatomy. Broken bones and emergency first-aid was the extent of his skill set. "But I think she's alive."

"Where should we go?" Blaring sirens through heavy traffic was a heady dream of Musume's. She had known Crow had several run-ins with Sector Security and their prime advantage in chases was being able to overcome their lack of skill by clearing the streets in advance. Being able to mesh her skill with that ability had them reaching speeds rarely seen outside action films. Turbo Duels rarely went that fast because the wind resistance would rip cards from hands.

"I know one place that should be safe."

* * *

There were some mixed feelings about locking Aion away in the hidden floor of Building Eight. Part of Yusei was ashamed to use his position in such a way without telling any of the other staff. Part of Musume was jealous that the room she had spent eight years in had been given away so callously. Part of Akiza wandered if there was any point in trying to strengthen the new walls. Doubtless, they had been reinforced to keep somebody of Musume's level inside but there was no telling how powerful Aion could be if she awakened. At least they would be able to keep her safe inside.

"Jack and Crow are okay." They had been the first call after escaping the park. Yusei had felt bad about leaving his brothers behind but the car didn't have enough space for six. There also hadn't been much time to stop and search for them. "Whatever happened over the weekend seems fuzzy to them but they're fine." Of course, both his brother's had understood the tactical reasoning and also had a variety of choice criticisms regarding his duplicity.

"The twins don't seem to have noticed." Akiza had called them both while Yusei tried to placate his brothers. Hers had been the much easier task. "Leo was studying Duel Monsters all weekend and Luna just thinks she was tired after arranging some functions. Whatever Aion changed didn't seem to affect them too much." Her own experiences as a dissipating spirit were another matter. One nobody was able to discuss right then.

"Just like that, she gets a full pass?" Being shunted sideways from reality had made Musume less than pleased with the slumbering deity. Peeling the gleaming Duel Disk off, she placed it on a nearby table. It was very tempting to pick out a few cards. But some things were better left alone.

"After changing the course of history, taking away my memories and endangering my family to try and do the right thing?" It was not a gentle reminder of her own past actions that had been begrudgingly forgiven. Even now, when she continued to express displeasure at his every breath, she received a blank record. "Just like that."

"I don't get it." Attaching wires and monitors to the sleeping being, Akiza couldn't figure out the reasons behind her abduction. "Why come after me?" Whatever facsimile of humanity was lying on the bed had the most perfect vitals she had ever seen. Textbook to the last detail. Inserting a nutrient drip, she couldn't think of anything else to do. This was beyond her expertise.

"She didn't say." There had only been time for a few short sentences before Aion had passed out. After the strain of summoning the departed images of her family and then being struck like that, it was unclear if she would ever awaken.

"What _did_ she tell you?" Walking out of the cube, Akiza watched as Yusei began sealing the layers of security. It was best if nobody was ever able to get into the box. None of them were even going to pretend that it would present any difficulty for Aion. "After you won?"

"That she was only trying to stop the progress of something worse than anything we have ever seen." Typical. There _was_ always something worse. If it wasn't Sector Security, it was Dark Signers. If it wasn't Dark Signers, it was Yliaster. If it wasn't Yliaster, it was family. "Standard stuff." Stepping back, he indicated the panels to Akiza to enter her own passwords and biometric data. In the likely event that the delayed investigation by the International Criminal Court stripped him of his position, they would need someone who could still get into the room.

"I was there for that bit." Letting the light scan her retinas and palms, she inputted a lengthy combination of keys and characters to use should Yusei not be around to unlock the box. "What did she tell you in the car?" If it had been anyone but the two Izinski women, Yusei would have mulled over the information for a while longer. As it was, Musume was the most suited – and indeed only – one of his friends to help next and Akiza... Akiza was special.

"Whoever's behind it all isn't just coming after Yusei Fudo anymore." It was strange to refer to himself in the third person. Strange but necessary. "They're coming after the King of Games." Watching the heavy panels slowly whirr into place, the three Duellists watched their view into the light get slowly stripped away. "All three of us." Then the door closed, leaving them in darkness.

In a future that was long past, a very particular phone call was connected. "It's me." On a polished table, dozens of cards were spread out. Some of the rare, some of them impossible, all of them powerful and dangerous in the wrong hands. It had been years in the planning but the moment was nearly upon them. Nothing could be left to chance. "You know why I'm calling."

"Then it's time?" Each voice was parts sombre, exhilarated and angry. Nothing like this had ever happened before. New ground was being broken in ways nobody had thought possible before. History in the remaking.

"Yes." A sinister eye looked out over the view from the window. Liquid fire erupted in the distance under a crimson moon, the night sky glinting with dark intentions. "I assume that you've got a plan?"

"This has been a long time coming. We have plans within plans." Standing at a window to gaze over the twinkling sea, the recipient of the call felt a powerful hunger gnawing away inside that could only one thing could sate. "I'll be there soon. Have your group prepared?"

"As much as we can be." It was a move nobody could see coming. Everyone involved had taken great pains to ensure that. "We'll be ready when you get here." Power, raw and wild flooded out across the vast office and shook the mighty building. Creatures and beings most people would never know of took note and rose up as they heard the call to arms. "It's time that Yusei realises the merits of his actions."

* * *

 _ **This was the one that I got stuck on. I really wanted to make a good Deck for Aion and spice up the show-down. It just took me a while longer than I expected.**_

 _ **Remember: patience is a virtue and painkillers help those headaches as much as reviews bring smiles. (Make me smile.)**_


	57. Convergence: Aion

Balancing on her toes in the hallway at Poppo Time, it was a struggle to think of how to approach the situation. This was not one that she had been in before. Usually the opposite. "You okay?" Turning around, she smiled at the troubled face of Akiza. No matter how hard this was, it was nothing in the face of what she had been through.

"Yeah." Looking back at the blank wall, Musume was relieved that her mother had returned even though she had been absent for most of the trouble. "Just thinking about something." After securing Aion at the SRC, they had returned to Poppo time. It had been almost evening, the entire day gone past in the blink of an eye.

"I'm still catching up on everything I missed." As far as Akiza was concerned, she had simply gone to sleep one evening and woken up in a stone chair. As far as kidnapping trauma went, it barely registered. "Did everyone _really_ forget me overnight?"

"Not everyone." Toying with the bracelet on her wrist, she wondered if anyone else out in the world had resisted Aion's influence. Maybe that was why there were people out there who played to a different narrative. Collateral damage from other supernatural battles. "I got lucky. Not sure how Phantom or Yusei did it." She had filed that question under 'ask later'. When they had returned, the armour had already been waiting. It had seemed without direction, having simply unfrozen in the field to find hours had passed. "How's Yusei doing?" She didn't care personally but felt a touch of compassion for anyone who found the world had changed around them without any warning.

"Not great." After silently walking through the entire building, he hadn't found a single trace that anyone had been there in days. Akiza had quietly taken him by the hand into his room and shut the door. There may have been the sound of crying but Musume had deliberately not listened too closely. "I think this has really taken a toll on him. He's resting now." Nodding uninterestedly, Musume wasn't paying much attention. "What about you?" Looking at the blank wall, certain events were more recent for her than they were for the others. "Going back to that place? Convergence?"

"Yeah." Leaning against the door to Crow's room, she continued to play with the beautiful snowflake charm. "I went there to ask about Phantom after she was taken to the Facility. Happened to get caught there when Aion did her thing." Which had been what had really protected her. The stay hadn't been all relaxation. She had been learning about the ongoing situation and what she could do once she was out. "Himeru gave me a lot of help. I'm not really sure how I can pay her back."

Looking from the high-strung young lady to the blank wall and back again, Akiza wondered if this was the first time Jack would have been more useful than her. "Don't overthink it." What was getting in her companion's way was her own pig-headed pride. Where that trait had come from, she had no idea. "Just go in and thank her for it. You know her better than I do," Only by two encounters but it was usually enough to get a feel for somebody. "If you can pay her back, you'll find a way."

Flushing slightly, Musume looked back at the wall. It was these sorts of talks that she had missed out on growing up. Crow had been as good a parent as she could hope for but there were always areas that he struggled in. "You're right." Smiling at her mother, she felt a tiny part of the burden slip from her shoulders. "Thanks." When she turned back, the door was already there. "Want to watch?"

Nodding and wide-eyed, Akiza backed away so that she could better access the door. Light filtered out around the edges as it was pulled open and she walked through. Once it closed again, there was no sign that the door had even been there in the first place. Cautiously prodding the wall, she wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it. On the bright side – since Musume was definitely not in the building any more – Akiza felt it was safe enough to simply walk into Yusei's room and close the door behind her. It was the first time that he had been left alone while asleep and she didn't want to push their luck any further.

"Musume!" Cleaning an array of glasses, Himeru smiled as her customer arrived. Reaching under the counter, she pulled out a wide glass filled with an orange drink. Wedged on the side was a slice of chunky fruit. "Here," Leaving it by Musume's regular seat, she returned to cleaning glasses. "On the house."

"I thought all the drinks were on the house?" Taking her seat, she nodded familiarly to Bill and Terrence. Both looked as happy to see her as the barkeep. "Did I miss anything exciting?"

"From what I understand, you had quite enough excitement by yourself." Twinkling eyes had followed her story with rapt attention. For a man such as Terrence, there was little that engaged him more than a good adventure. "We were all rooting for you."

"I hope you enjoyed the show." There was a grandfatherly air about the old man that put everyone at ease. Musume couldn't bring herself to be snarky with him and took a sip from her glass. "Mmm, that's _good_." Taking a longer slurp, she enjoyed the sweet, tingling taste. "What is it?" Breaths were drawn in along the bar as she took another drink.

" _That_ is a fruity pornstar." Hearing the name, Musume instantly began sprayed the mouthful she had onto the floor in shock. Echoing in the background, Himeru's laugh mixed in with the rest of the pub's as they all enjoyed her reaction. That is, all but one.

"What'cha go'n do that for?" Flapping his expansive jacket, Ryan was unhappy with the most recent stain on his clothes. Most of the others were either blood, unspeakable liquids or just plain weird. One was from several different types of mustard mixed up together out of boredom. Having someone spray their drink on him was barely interesting enough to even remember.

"You're kidding, right?" Eyeing the drink, she remembered the name she could barely speak during her last visit. "This is a… one of those?" Nodding with a smile as she continued to clean a seemingly endless array of glasses, Himeru probably knew that there was a sword tucked on the other side of the counter. Staring at the drink, she cautiously took another sip. Despite her misgivings, it was delicious. "I came here to say thanks. So, thanks. For helping me."

"My pleasure. It was entirely down to your good timing." Waving the glass, Himeru passed the credit back as she continued to wipe down the bottom of a massive tankard. "And I appreciate not blabbing about my little hints until after it was down." When she had originally explained the situation, she had made Musume promise to let the creatures inside her spill out slightly until it was all over. Or, as she put it 'make a lot of noise and not let anyone know about the help until afterwards'. "There is a question that I would like to ask you." Enjoying the drink – despite the unfortunate name – Musume waved a hand to indicate her assent. "With your permission, may I speak with Paku Supay and Quetzalcoatl?"

It was only because of her recent help that Musume wasn't leaving the bar right away. Also because Himeru had taken the time to ask. Setting down her glass, she wasn't fooled by the bribery as it instantly filled back up.

"What happened to _not_ treating me as a telephone?" That slightly embarrassed look would have indicated that she had said something uncomfortably close to the truth. She had to remind herself that the bartender might only look human. There weren't might not even be words to describe what she was.

"I would normally talk with them directly but ignoring you would be rude." Setting down a champagne flute to one side and her cloth to the other, she had made sure to give the matter her full attention. "You have my word; I will relay the conversation to you afterwards." Chewing over the issue, Musume considered it from all angles. Even if she denied permission, nothing she did could actually make a difference.

"Okay. Then." For a few seconds, there was an empty space where Himeru had been standing. Then she returned, looking slightly singed and patting down the flowing cardigan as it continued to smoulder. Since Himeru had managed to provide a safe haven from whatever mumbo-jumbo Aion had woven, Musume had assumed that little could faze her. Clearly, this wasn't the case. "That was fast. How did it go?" What was more worrying was that either one or both of the things that had done this to her were currently sitting inside Musume.

"On the bright side, they agreed to speak with me." Part of her hair was still flaming before a simple flick managed to put out the unearthly fire. No flame had ever glowed like that. "However, that is not an experience I wish to repeat."

"What _did_ you speak about?" It might have only been a handful of moments to her but it could have been a lot longer to Himeru. When she had spoken with Phantom, Musume had been sure the conversation had lasted minutes only to find it had been seconds.

"I told them that I intended to share one of the gravest secrets of the universe with you." Because of the hearty smile, Musume couldn't tell if she was being serious or not. "To begin with, there is an unspoken agreement between those who live in ways that you cannot fully understand. Paku Supay, Quetzalcoatl, the Asgard, Aion."

Although Musume hadn't personally met the three heroes from Europe, she knew enough about them to understand the implication Himeru was going for. Gods and demons. The primordial beings which could bend the universe to their whim. "None may interfere with events on a grand scale unless another does first. More often than not, the second party just sets out to undo the effects of the first."

"Like how the Crimson Dragon tries to stop Red Nova." In the bowels of her soul, she could feel them still squirming around. Having vented at least some of their frustrations towards the momentary distraction, they were more docile than usual.

"Quite." From the way her clothes were still patching back together, Himeru understood the meaning first-hand. "It is why I am only pouring drinks and passing advice. Everything that I do must have minimal effect or risk letting others interfere with what is coming."

"And what exactly is that?" Aion had called it a 'calamity'. Even after she had been struck down, she had vowed to try and hold it back as best she could. Then she caught the look Terrence was sending her from one side. "But you can't tell me." Speaking slowly, she probed slightly for the truth. "Because that would interfere with what we'd normally do." And thus, the growing threat.

"Exactly." Although the words were congratulatory, she sounded displeased by the constraint. "As you said, the two you carry within are constantly fighting one another. Long ago, they decided to fight their battle through intermediaries and imbued them with powerful totems." The Signers and Dark Signers. The Marks which were now imprinted across Musume's body. "Because they had agreed to it, their regular interactions are not cause for others to intervene." Even though they could definitely count as 'grand scale' if the Dark Signers ever won.

"Then why are you even talking to me if you're not meant to interact?" A flash of a smile told her that she had asked the question Himeru had been nudging her towards.

"Although I cannot tell you just now, you have my word that I will do all that I can before the final moment arrives." Musume didn't trust that easily. Right now, Himeru was somewhere between Jack and a service worker. She wouldn't be sharing any secrets but definitely be civil enough to get as much as she could out of the bartender. The free food and drink didn't hurt.

"Okay then." Standing up, she recognised a good place to finish the conversation. Himeru had certainly given her a lot to think about. "I don't suppose that you have any other secrets of the universe you want to share?" Learning that the various deities were keeping their hands clean because they couldn't get away with it was certainly not what she had expected. "Maybe give us a nudge in the right direction, under the table?" A warm smile greeted the attempt to ask for more help.

"In the days ahead, I will do my best to ensure that Yusei arrives on time." When she looked back on that moment later, Musume had to wonder if maybe it was meant as a little joke. "In return, I would request to ask a small favour of you?"

"Depends on the favour." After providing shelter during the opening salvo of Aion's gambit and sharing a few big secrets, Musume decided that Himeru had probably earned a little something for her troubles. Just as long as it was nothing too extravagant.

As she finally put down the glasses, the very air turned heavy. "I want you to tell Yusei that Lethe is safe. Tell him that I took her away before the truth returned and gave her a life elsewhere. That she may never see him again but she was happy in the end."

"Lethe?" Musume had heard the name from Crow. In the world that Aion had tried to convince them was real, Lethe had been the poor soul she had used to replace Akiza. "Is that true?" Although she was happy that Akiza had been protected, Musume was realising that there had been more collateral damage than she had expected.

"Only if you believe that it is." There was no way to confirm her words. It was just as likely that Lethe had found herself in a strange place and vanished back into the city before anyone could return. "Until next time." Picking up her glass and cloth she returned to cleaning as various patrons around the bar bid farewell until Musume closed the door behind her.

Stepping back out into Poppo Time, it was now late enough at night that everyone was in bed. Lowering herself onto the couch, Musume let out a slow breath. Convergence was definitely an experience. Just not one that left much time for rest. Shifting around a bit, she planted her feet on the armrest closest to the door and interlocked fingers behind her head as tired eyes closed in concentration. One part that had stood out against the rest was the mention of Lethe. Admittedly, the unspoken rules against intervention had been interesting but what could be gained from saving a random stranger?

Unnoticed in the far corner of the room, Phantom was once more dressed in the dusty boiler suit. Akiza had invited her to stay until they could sort everything out again and she couldn't think of any real reason as to why not to. Jack and Crow had stopped by to check on their brother and barely paid her any attention before leaving again. That was okay. What she needed right now was a bit of space.

With all the quiet time spent alone in her cell, she had enjoyed plenty to think. Whatever had happened in the docks had seemed like so long ago yet was only a handful of days. She had been spending most of the interim trying to untangle the mess inside her own head.

A soft snore distracted her internal process. Over on the couch, Musume had passed into an uneasy sleep. Careful to move without a rustle of her outfit, Phantom silently stepped over the floor until she was within an arm's reach of the sofa. Like so many overworking fools, the young woman asleep before her rarely put any thought towards herself. Gently reaching out, a dark hand snagged the thick blanket from the back of the furniture and carefully spread it over the slumbering form.

Softly returning to her spot, Phantom crouched back down and leaned against the wall. Sitting on the floor had always brought her a strange sense of perspective. No matter how small an object appeared, everything was always a lot bigger from below. The house was quiet and filled the sound of people sleeping. After a while, a gentle hum began to fill the room as she continued to think on through the night.

* * *

Nothing was normal anymore. It had been a long time since Musume had been able to look at the world and not have the tinge of supernatural overshadowing everything. Waking up after planning on dying had put a definite dint in her plans. Ever since Paris, there had been a voice constantly screaming in her ear. A dark figure tumbling from the sky had just been another in a long list of odd occurrences. That they had turned out to be severely autistic and somehow the only other one besides Yusei to retain their memories when Aion wiped the world clean of Akiza was basically par for the course. Maybe the weirdest event in recent times was that she had slept peacefully for an entire night.

Peeling back the thick blanket which had been covering her, she gently rubbed her tired eyes and stretched upright in the chill dawn. Shuffling over to the counter, she was in dire need of sustenance to start her day properly.

"Nn." Giving a slight grunt as she leaned on the counter to glare at the kettle, Musume ignored the whispering in one ear. Other people may have wished the water to boil faster. It was possible that her glowing eyes might actually be able to glare the water into cooking faster. She had decided against experimenting in case it exploded in her face.

 _Good morning. Would you like some breakfast?_ It was ridiculously early and before coffee. She took a moment to realise two things. Firstly, that she hadn't turned the kettle on yet and it would boil a lot faster with the power turned on. Next, that the unheard words were far more coherent than any before.

Slowly turning to face the rest of the room, she looked at the bright orange boiler suit. It was sitting so impassively at the table that she had managed to walk right past without even noticing. Hoshi was splayed loosely over one shoulder with the occasional yawn splitting her face in half. There was no visible sign that anything had changed.

 _If not,_ Reaching up a finger, Phantom gently scratched at the cats head as it shifted position. Blue eyes flickered happily as purring began to sound. _I believe that you wanted to talk?_

* * *

 _ **A nice, short chapter here. Everything is (mostly) back on track. And Phantom's finally got her head screwed on straight to boot!**_

 _ **Unfortunately, I'm getting quite busy and cannot be certain when the next update will be. Fret not. New year, new me, new drive, new reviews(?).**_


	58. First Talks

A pair of new thoughts replaced the old ones. One stated that she _definitely_ needed the coffee from the un-boiled kettle to get to grips on reality. "Gimme a second." Keeping both eyes on the boiler suit, she carefully navigated back down the corridor until she reached the right door. Her spare thought was that backup was required to deal with the recently mad thing seated at the kitchen table. And only one person deserved to be awake at such an unholy hour. "Yuuuuseeeiiii!" Pounding on the thick wood that hard probably woke up half the square. It was worth the risk.

"What?!" In his hurry to open the door, Yusei was still in the baggy shorts he slept in. That didn't matter because she hadn't broken gaze with the suddenly sane spectator.

"She's up." One hand displayed a remarkable ability to grapple the windpipe of anyone within grabbing distance. Even when not instantly visible. "And she's making more sense this time."

"Mu-su-me. Ca-n't. Bre-athe." Thumping at her arm brought enough attention that he was let go. More like the noise of his fist pounding on her arm was irritating rather than the blows themselves. "What's going on? It's the middle of the night."

 _Approximately twelve minutes until five. Technically morning._ A vague look drifted over his eyes as voiceless words bypassed his ears entirely. Leaning around the corner of the door, he followed Musume's line of sight to where Phantom was quietly staring back at them. _Hello._ Like Musume before him, the first thing that Yusei realised was how much more coherent Phantom sounded.

"Give me a second." Closing his door, it opened a few seconds later with his torso now covered by a tatty shirt grabbed from a bottom drawer. "How long has she been talking?"

"Maybe a few minutes." It was impossible to be certain. Those nightmares Musume were enduring kept her fairly out of touch with the world. Oddly, this had been her first decent night of sleep in a long while.

Staring back down the corridor together, they silently evaluated the increasingly uncomfortable figure. As much as they hated to admit it, the pair worked well together for a very simple reason: Yusei was good at handling people, Musume was good at hurting them. As they watched, the head slowly tilted to look at the cat while a finger gently stroked the tapping paw.

"What did you do?" Moving at a glacial speed, the perch slowly rose and moved over to the kettle to turn it on. Progress was delayed by an array of soft murmurs in one ear whenever the shoulder rest moved too fast or too far.

"Why do you think I did something?" Neither moved their eyes as they recognised the futility of her question. "It wasn't me, I swear." Swearing was an art that Musume had mastered, telling the truth was one that she had not. Taking this into account, they both pretended to accept what she had said until the next big whopper came along.

"Did you have a plan?" Watching the figure slowly inch around the kitchen around with one arm keeping a cat sated, they measured up the danger. In a fair fight, Yusei could probably match maybe three people. Maybe five, if they were mediocre enough. Musume could probably level a building if she didn't hold back. And they were watching a peaceful figure who had taken down down dozens of armed police officers without any forewarning making coffee and stroking a cat.

"She said she wanted to talk." An array of mistakes had slowly hammered the importance of speaking _before_ a fight into her skull. Although she couldn't undo the mistake of their fight on the rooftop, Musume could make amends for it. "So, let's talk." Despite her vote of diplomacy, she made sure that Yusei was first to approach the kitchen. Cannon fodder if anything went wrong.

"Er, good morning?" Hearing the voice of her owner, Hoshi leaned back and gave a slight 'mew' before snuggling back onto her mobile platform.

 _Good morning._ Opening the fridge, she smoothly poured a dribble of milk into the swirling mug in one hand. _I apologise that you woke up this early._ A tilted head glanced at Yusei. _There is still time to have a nap. You could get some more rest._ Everything that she was saying was perfectly acceptable yet not the sort of answers that they had expected. And strangely concise.

"That's alright." Carefully taking a seat at the table, he could see how Musume was keeping one hand tucked rigidly under the lip of the wood as she took the other seat. Any smart gambler would have bet there was a certain weapon being carefully held there. "I'm used to getting by without sleep."

 _Your condition. I forgot._ There was a pause as little pieces were sorted neatly into place. A slightly longer one entered as she composed a longer sentence. Coherency was still a bit wobbly after losing control of her faculties. _I thought that you had been sleeping better of late._

"What makes you think that?" Whatever condition he had was common knowledge. That he was sleeping normally again was a secret that not even Yusei's family knew everything about.

 _People sound different when they are... restless._ There was a slight pause between the words. Jack would have misinterpreted it as menacing. Crow would have recognised it as careful. Yusei decided to reserve judgement for the moment. Before the past weekend, he would have assumed the best in people. Now, he couldn't even be certain. Even though she had been useful, there was too little known about Phantom to be certain. _Here._ Sliding the mug onto the table before him, she carefully moved back around to reclaim her chair. _Milk, no sugar._ Another mug was placed in front of Musume who looked at it with a suspicious eye. _Plain._

"Thank you." A tiny detail caught Yusei's eye as the other mug was callously drained in the sink. Imprinted around the cylinder was a moist outline vanishing in heat of the liquid within. "Did you sleep well?" It was tricky to make small talk with the dimly lit blue eyes. They were the only part visible in an otherwise empty void.

 _I have not slept._ Melancholy touched the voiceless voice as she spoke.

"Let's cut to the chase." Not one for subtleties, Musume asked the question that had been preying on their minds for a while. "What do you want and why are you here?" Tightening her eyes, Musume was prepared for any signs of deception. Except that the ethereal eyes were focused on a place far beyond the room.

Recognising a warning sign, Yusei indicated to let him take the lead. "Phantom?" After a moment, the helmet slowly tilted back to face him and slowly came back to focus on the situation.

 _Apologies. I was... listening._ A pause preceded the final word yet there was no indication of dishonesty.

"Listening to what?" It was evident from the distracted air that only one ear... rather, only half Phantom's attention was focused on the conversation at hand.

 _Everything._ And there was another one of those impossible smiles. _It is... fascinating to... observe how it all fits together._

"Great." Not to be deterred, the less sympathetic figure at the table was quick to barge back in. "Now, tell us why you're here."

 _To prevent Yliaster from eradicating the Signer bloodlines and because you asked me to stay._ A stunned moment went past. They had not been expecting such a blatant answer.

"Okay." Taking a sip from his coffee, hindsight reminded him that it could have been poisoned. Taste was quick to vote that it detected no poison and only a perfect cup of coffee. "Can you explain a bit more?"

 _Of course._ When nothing further came, he had to gesture for a continuation. It was too early to be coping with the subtle nuances of an autistic mind. He had asked a question and she had answered in the affirmative.

 _As far as I understand, the cycle of battle between Signer and Dark Signer are cycled every five millennia. While the Dark Signers are empowered post mortem, the Signers are designated by lineage._ Sitting in the dark room in the early morning, Yusei was unprepared for a supposedly secret history to be so casually unrolled by this unknown. _In this cycle, the Signers have no non-Signer siblings._ With the questionable exception of Leo and his five minutes of fame, this was true. _If Yliaster were to eliminate any of you, then the Mark would be lost to future generations. Dark Signers would win by default and the entire world would suffer._

"Are you really trying to say that you're trying to save humanity?" Unimpressed by the martyr complex which people seemed to bandy around so much, Musume sneered at the implication.

 _Humanity?_ Voiceless words scoffed at the idea. _Humanity is a garbage species who I would not miss if they died out tomorrow._

"Wait, you _just_ said you were trying to stop the end of the world." Trying to spot the linear thread was not a feat that Yusei exactly excelled at. He usually needed the autists working for him to lead him through the hoops. "Which is it?"

 _Humanity can go hang. I am only concerned because the world needs to be here for others._ Tickling the cat on her shoulder, the connection was finally made clear. Humans weren't worth a damn in her estimation. She was only in this for the cats. _Now, if you will excuse me._ Fussing over the cat, she carefully ruffled fur into place while carefully lifting it down onto the table. _I have to leave._ Standing up, she politely tucked her chair back in and nodded amicably.

"No." Tilting backwards on her chair, Musume looked up with glimmering eyes.

 _Pardon?_ Beside polished manners, perfect grammar and invisible outfits, Phantom was apparently slow on the uptake. Most likely because nobody had told her not to do anything for a long time.

"No." Musume's first instinct was to reach for the hidden weapon that had been tucked into her boot since getting sucked into Convergence while Aion rewrote history. Considering how little she yet understood about what it could do – especially with what had happened last time it had been near their guest – she left it alone. "We tend to work under a code around here. Stick together, that sort of thing." In his room, Crow woke up in a cold sweat for reasons he couldn't figure out. Punching his pillows into a more comfortable mess, he rolled over and went right back to sleep. It was too early in the morning to be waking up.

 _It would be better if I left._ A curious glimmer was in those eyes staring up at her. Not unlike the one from the rooftop where they had spiralled into a fight. Enough to make her consider pulling the chair back out. By sheer force to will, she managed to stick to her plan. _Therefore, I am leaving._

"No." Yusei's eyes twitched sideways. That commanding tone was so like Akiza's that he was instinctively trying to stop whatever he was doing. Which was only made more difficult because he wasn't actually doing anything. It was a wonder that Phantom was able to stand upright under the pressure. "Like it or not, you're better off with us. So, shut up and let's help each other."

For a silent minute, they stared one another down. Phantom no longer had eyes which needed to blink nor a body to distract her nor could she be affected by any mystical abilities that might be sent her way. By contrast, Musume was pissed that she hadn't had any coffee yet. It was no contest.

 _I must leave._ Grumbling under her breath was difficult but she exuded an air of exasperation instead. _For a while. But do not worry._ Trying to smile was distinctly different from actually smiling. Everything underneath it came from the wrong place. Repression. Denial. Capitulation. _I will try and return as soon as I can._ When she said those words, there was a flicker of honest hope in the smile.

"When you get back." Giving a stern glare that came straight from her mother, it was clear that this conversation was not far from over. "You're going to explain everything." For just a moment, Phantom toyed with the idea of never coming back. But it was as inevitable as the tides. They needed each other. It would be best to try and get along.

* * *

 _ **Sorry for radio silence. Things have been hectic with life, Brexit (fuck Brexit), etc.**_

 _ **To quote the cat, 'can haz reviews'?**_


End file.
